Meet Barbara
Barbara is a sixteen-year-old homeschooled sophomore who’s been a YACster for the past two years. She compares herself to the sea – “calm at times, but also angry at other times.” Friendly and funny, Barbara is a regular helping out at our TAG (Teaching Across Generations) program. For Barbara, YAC is a place that is “amazing, special, and scare-ifying” (a reference to a Peter Pan production she is a part of).
Barbara doesn’t remember the first time she made art, but she has video footage of herself painting rainbow splatters as a two- or three-year-old. These days Barbara works primarily with colored pencils (on account of her 30days/30Drawings Sketchbook Project), but the medium she loves most is markers. Prolific and fearless in her art, Barbara has also worked in acrylic paint, digital art, and animation. She describes her work as being “sometimes expressive, image-like, and familiar,” and she is drawn to anime and nature as subject matter.
Barbara draws inspiration from beaches, gardens, her dreams, and her friends’ artwork. Her friend Alisha’s work inspired her to make her own comic book, and her wild dreams often make her think, “I have to get this down on paper!” Her other passions include traveling, caring for people and animals, and showing the world that autistic people can do amazing things.
YAC has opened a whole new world for Barbara. She talks about how YAC introduced her to “other people who have problems, too,” as well as many other artists her age. She describes the experience of her first opening here as, “really amazing… Amazing!” She loved getting to meet people who enjoyed not only her art, but everyone else’s art as well.
Looking forward, Barbara would love to learn glass blowing, metal sculpture, and woodcarving. She would also like to spend more time exploring watercolor as a medium. As far as her work is concerned, Barbara’s goals are for people to see it, and for her to know it is special. In ten years she would love to be either traveling the world or to be with her family making art.
Find Barbara’s expressive and unique art on instagram @barbara.kathleen.anderson
