- “The Blue Fey” by Seb Barnett was done using water color, water color pencil, and ink on paper.
I would like to introduce you to Seb Barnett. She is a multi-talented artist who you can meet this Friday during the Center on Contemporary Arts (CoCA) 2009 Art Marathon at the Fremont Abbey. Seb uses her art to convey and release her emotions. The images that appear when she closes her eyes, thus the pieces she creates, have their own illuminating language. The Puget News is fortunate enough to get into her mind and behind her eyes as she prepares for this Friday’s event.
Seb Barnett, ladies and gentlemen…
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Seb, have you done anything like the Art Marathon before?
Nope!
What are you doing to prepare for the event?
Well, I’m looking around my studio at what I can bring with me, wondering what is reasonable to pack around, also looking through sketchbooks and looking for inspiring imagery. I’m really excited because I don’t usually let myself do art just for the hell of it, and this time I’m not limiting myself to the idea of “it has to fit in a body of work, or it has to be within this subject.” Its going to be a lot of fun.
Do you have an idea in your head as to how the 24 hours+ is going to shake out?
I’ve got an idea of how it will go for me as a person, but not how it will go for the whole situation. I haven’t done the marathon before, so it’s going to be interesting. I know I’ll hit the “what the hell do I do with this?!” point a few times, get frustrated, set it aside, then look back at it later. There will probably be some wandering around and most likely getting inspired by fellow artists. I’m really looking forward to being around others while they work. Its great energy we get going when we’re all working in one space.
How did you get involved in this year’s event?
I’ve been involved with other shows with COCA and David Francis was considerate enough to contact me with an invite.
I am most drawn to the pieces that have an alluring blend of sweetness, sensitivity and subtle gruesomeness to it. I am referring to works like The Burden of Knowing (oil painting), Kimono (illustration), The Violinist (illustration), and Don’t You Want To Be Like Us? (comic story). These pieces come from your imagination. What is your process of imagining these “scenes”? How do you put yourself in the state of mind to envision these pieces?
The Burden of Knowing is about when I starting [sic] getting intuitions about people I cared about and the harsh things in life they would go through. I couldn’t tell them because it wouldn’t change the situation and maybe in telling them I would change the course of their lives to something less desirable. Not to mention I lost a few friends in trying to warn them of the paths they were on. Nothing changed other than they no longer wanted to speak with me. It was a burden I started taking on silently.
Kimono was an illustration for a book called “Full Metal Kimono” The main character was a lady by the name of “spirit of the mountain.”
"Kimono" by Seb Barnett done in water color, ink, and gouache on paper
The Violinist was also a book cover, and that was one of the stories in the book.
Don’t You Want To Be Like Us was about the rejection I felt as a teenager because I wasn’t interested in fitting in to most groups, and so I did not feel like I belonged.
For the most part my art is me desperately needing to express an emotion that threatens to overwhelm me. When I put it into art it becomes its own object, and no longer eats at my mind so desperately. The imagery just turns out to be a stream of consciousness, I think in imagery, not words, and just closing my eyes for a moment leaves me with imagery that could be expressed through art.
Seb Barnett's "Bonding" done in ink on paper
The most captivating piece is Bonding . It is your most complete execution of an idea, from imagination to image on a page, and is filled with so much love and emotion. That piece was done a while ago. Why have you not done more of this type of work?
Its really funny to me that you think Bonding is one of the more captivating pieces I’ve done. In my opinion its rather simple. I’ve done more of that kind of work, but not bothered to scan it in.
Mark here. I’ve got to respond to this one. Bonding may be simple and it’s because of that simplicity that the illustration is successful. The clean and crisp aesthetic works so well. And the composition creates visual depth. When I see metal, flesh, and a rose petal done this well I want to continue to look. I want to explore. I can’t help but make up a story for these two. All those simplicities are positives for Bonding.
What do the birds say and what does The Girl Who Spoke With Birds say to them?
The Girl who Spoke with Birds was illustrations for a short story, it was never said what she said to the birds. Just that it was terribly sad, and that she couldn’t say it with human words.
Thanks much to Seb Barnett for giving up her time just days before the big Art Marathon. Seb, we look forward to talking with you at the event. We wish you well and you should know that you have our collective support.
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TPN invites you to come along for the ride. I’m bringing my sleeping bag and pillow along with my camera!
