ABOUT THE ARTIST

PATTI BARNATT

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​The first time I worked with clay the experience was transformative - like the skies parted and the choir of angels sang.  It was 1971, I was teaching high school art; I needed to learn about ceramics in order to teach it. Clay, handbuilding in particular, hooked me but good.

I fell in love with the process.

However, life sent some twists and turns. Family responsibilities got heavy and took priority; I had to let clay go from my life by 1980. It was only after my husband passed and the kids left home that there was time in my life to give clay a try again.

In 2007 I signed up for a concentration at Penland School of Craft in North Carolina and took the leap back into the ceramic world. I had a lot of trepidation but discovered that I still loved it and I could still do it.

After Penland I found a cooperative studio at the Steel Yard in Providence, RI where I was a resident 2008 - 2015. I'm still on the instructor roster there. I taught ceramics at School One, a private alternative high school in Providence from 2010-2016.  ​

I work primarily with stoneware cone 6 clay. I don't really care about function and I dislike production work.  It's all about the form unless it's all about the decoration. I love sgrafitto when the spirit moves.

Sometimes my pieces are tiny and at other times they are as large as the kiln size allows me to fire. It seems like the clay decides...I try not to think too much.  

​I'm here to allow, cooperate, make and enjoy the process.

In addition, I am the  owner instructor of West Side Sewing Sewing in Providence where I offer individualized sewing instruction in a small group setting. I've been teaching people how to sew for 20 years.