Barbara Hart

From the moment she could hold a crayon, Barbara Hart was drawing. Her passion for art carried her through to California State University in Los Angeles, where she also studied art history. She became fascinated by the connection between historical events and art. Throughout her professional career, Barbara incorporated creativity in her work: as the publicity director for a major department store, cable television graphic designer, and as a teacher. Currently, she is a docent at the Portland Art Museum, where she guides tours for school children and the visually impaired. With a Masters of Art in Education, she taught middle school language arts to an ethnically diverse group of children near Palm Springs.  Barbara is committed to museum outreach, believing that art has the possibility to change a person’s life.

Barbara’s CHAIR AFFAIR+ submission is designed for children. It is a child’s table and chair decorated with the characters from the book, A Very Hungry Caterpillar. The designs are first drawn, then outlined on tracing paper. A separate piece of white paper is roughly painted with the desired colors of the characters. The tracing paper is then placed over the painted surface and cut out to form the individual parts of the characters. Each piece is glued onto the painted wood with wallpaper paste. The finished piece is covered with several coats of clear varnish.