Bonny Barker (she/her/hers)

Bonny Barker is a ceramic artist from Stockton, California. She began working with clay while studying art at San Joaquin Delta College, and obtained her BFA in Spatial Art from San Jose State University. She is in love with the ceramic process for the healing it provides, offering meditative manipulation of material to work through and bring form to a feeling or happening.

Her sculptures are explorations of herself and the world around her, examining the relationship humans share with the natural world. She strives for realism through sculpting intricate patterns found in nature, intending to awe with details often overlooked. Her current work is inspired by the bestial ailments of mental health and the animalistic behavior one may experience. The intention is to remind the viewer of their existence as a creature of this world, and of our similarities to each other and the beasts around us.

In addition to teaching at the university level, Barker intends to expand her material skill set and installation methods while at UW. She is interested in developing methods of constructing and hanging large-scale sculpture.