The Ceramic Imagination of Jillian Barber - Inside Art With Michael Rose

The Ceramic Imagination of Jillian Barber - Inside Art With Michael Rose

 

Artist Jillian Barber might be one of the state’s most productive and most celebrated ceramists. A 1968 RISD graduate, Barber has been on the local scene for decades and has exhibited just about everywhere. Her works in clay are distinctive and are known for their sensitivity to detailed surfaces, multifaceted use of glazes, and inventiveness of content. Currently, she is featured in two exhibitions in the state. Through March 31, she is one of four artists featured in a group show at DeBlois Gallery in Middletown. Her work was also selected for the Bristol Art Museum’s show Bull in the China Shop, on through June 28.

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Barber was born in the United Kingdom but grew up in Westerly. Today, she resides in a seaside cottage in Jamestown and has a bright, custom built home studio where she crafts and fires her sculptural ceramics. Masks are a recurring theme, as are animals, and imagined creatures and characters. She often employs lace to create uniquely textured surfaces which she then details with glazes. There is a sense of whimsy that is singular to Barber and she has sold work to clients across the country.

 

 

Reflecting on her love of the clay medium, Barber explains that her many years of experience with ceramics have added to her dexterity. She says, “Working with clay is second nature to me. We know each other well. When I go into the studio with the thought of creating a winged creature, the form grows and comes to life as if by magic. Clay lets me manifest visions.” In her creative space, every surface is covered with reference materials, tools, or completed works. The room is also festooned with ribbons and plaques she has received throughout her career.

 

Barber is extremely active in exhibiting her work, with seemingly boundless energy for sharing her ceramics in venues around the state and beyond. Of the local arts community, Barber is enthusiastic, stating, “Rhode Island has a wonderful community of artists.  Entering shows is an opportunity to create and exhibit new work, sometimes made especially for the theme. And to maybe win an award, of course!”

 

 

Earning accolades is something that Barber knows all about. She boasts over 150 individual awards and prizes from a plethora of organizations. At the start of 2025, she already earned an award for Most Original Artwork in Spring Bull Gallery’s annual Fakes and Forgeries Exhibition from judge William Vareika. Other juried shows in the last few years have seen Barber earn prizes at the Artists Cooperative Gallery at Westerly, the South County Art Association, the Pawtucket Arts Cooperative, the Warwick Center for the Arts, the Bristol Art Museum, the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, the Mystic Museum of Art, and others.

 

Among other honors, Barber has been commissioned to create work by the Providence Children’s Museum, she was awarded a Rhode Island State Council on the Arts grant for a tile mural in Jamestown, and she has served as Artisan in Residence at Ocean House in Watch Hill. In 2023, she was the subject of an extensive and wide-ranging retrospective at the historic Hoxie Gallery at Westerly Public Library, enabling the town where she was raised to see her life’s work.

 

 

In current exhibitions, Barber is sharing work among her peers. At Bristol Art Museum, several of her pieces are shown in a survey of ceramics titled Bull in the China Shop. The show puts Barber in context with fellow clay-focused artists. At DeBlois Gallery in Middletown, where she is an active member, she is sharing pieces with artists Hilary Archer, Michael Day, and Nick Williams, who all work in other media. The interplay of Barber’s work with contemporaries in these shows is a chance for closer study and appreciation for points of connection and difference.

 

Looking forward, Barber is not slowing down. She is currently in production mode and has ideas for new and additional projects that combine her expertise in clay with her talents in photography. She explains, “My next phase is getting ready for my 29th Wickford Art Festival on July 12 and 13. I will have new sea creatures, masks, jardinieres, and of course, merpeople. I have ideas for new Grande Heads. I want to hand-color some family photographs and also start the mask/photo project of Jamestowners with their portrait masks.”

 

 

Jillian Barber is a lifelong Rhode Islander who has made an impressive mark on the field of ceramics. Through her award-winning work, she has put clay in focus for the state. In current shows, friends and neighbors have a chance to see and compare works by the artist and to consider her remarkable and singular imagination.

 

Learn more about Jillian Barber’s work and career at her website, www.jillianbarber.com.