Original harness technique used with fossil ammonite pieces at least 66 million years old.

Original harness technique used with fossil ammonite pieces at least 66 million years old.

My work honors both the rocks and trees they are made of, and explores shapes I find or imagine. 

My process is to see or think of a shape, then experiment with materials to create that shape, or until the materials suggest something else. 

My influences are as disparate as the essays of Ursula LeGuin, Japanese Deco artists, teachers I have studied with, and patterns I see in city skylines, tree branches or woven rugs.

I cut, shape and finish rock slices; gather and treat pine needles, construct shapes and negative space. The natural materials and the shapes tell stories: 50 years of growth or 50 million years of weather, suggestions of form or function, what the materials and shapes have witnessed, carried or contained.

In some ways, my process is engineering as much as art; the pine needle coils turn corners, create shadow, are layered and stacked. Translucent agate pieces incorporate more light; suspending rocks with coils adds the element of gravity. I am engaged in a sculptural exploration of what pine needles and rock slices can do.


What if? How can I?

View this thirty-minute video which describes Barbara Osborne’s journey from basketry to sculpture.

 

Walking through the steps to create the work.

 
 

Explanation of Techniques

 

Tendril Series

Antler Series

 

Northwind Gallery Walk-through

 

Walk-through of featured artist exhibition at Northwind Gallery, May 2021

These pieces each have 2 different shapes in one physical space; a central core and  an external shape created by the horizontal plates.

These pieces each have 2 different shapes in one physical space; a central core and
an external shape created by the horizontal plates.

Here are some variations of the tendril series.

Here are some variations of the tendril series.