by Barbara Downs | Oct 23, 2021
This wall-sized piece has been my main studio work during the pandemic; it’s been my response to the global catastrophe as well as to the ordinary triumphs and tragedies that have occurred as usual in our lives. The triumphs have been made less celebratory and...
by Barbara Downs | Sep 21, 2020
I started this blog post several weeks ago about a project I’m doing in response to the pandemic, but that was before California caught on fire and we had to evacuate. Back home again, I’m also back to this project, so it’s a good time to finish the...
by Barbara Downs | Sep 21, 2019
In a moment of surprising forethought and planning when I was in high school, I took some drafting classes because I knew I wanted to study art in college, but I also knew that I needed to earn a living. Why not do drafting as my day job? I liked drawing and the...
by Barbara Downs | Jan 26, 2018
There are plenty of barns in Iceland. And there is plenty of appeal for me in a barn: a long, low, simple building, a blocky shape dropped onto the landscape with little innate beauty. Its utility is not obvious from the outside, and any windows are placed too high...
by Barbara Downs | Apr 27, 2017
We’re having a Spring Studio Sale at Mission Industrial Studios! Where: Mission Industrial Studios, 2573 Mission St., Santa Cruz When: May 6-7, 1pm-6pm Many of you have visited me at Open Studios, but this is not the same sort of event. My studio is currently...
