| Artist of the Month Barb Owens |
Barb Owens is our featured Artist of the Month. She grew up in Pittsburgh, living in localities from the
Hill District to Sewickley to Homestead. She and her sister were raised in foster homes which
exposed them to a wide variety of environments and cultural experiences. They were encouraged to
enjoy education and the arts. She sang in church, acted in plays, played the flute, taught herself to play
the piano and enjoyed attending Pittsburgh Symphony concerts.
At about age 7 she began disassembling and reassembling jewelry. She attended first secretarial
school and the took a course in fashion merchandising which led to an internship at Kaufmann's. She
paused to raise her son and daughter, but continued to follow trends and read Women's Wear Daily
every chance she got in order to stay current with fashion trends. She then began to experiment with
jewelry design, taking classes at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, the Bead Mine and even at her
church to refine her craft.
Her designs come to her by looking at the beads and "visualizing" them in a piece, either earrings,
necklaces or bracelets.
She has also written about 14 children's stories and about 70 plus quattrains that she hopes to break
out soon.From the time she was a child, she could make up silly games to entertain herself, her sister
and her foster sisters and every once in a while she will bring out her "game booth" and go to a
community festival or carnival.
Barb can be found at the Father Ryan Art Center.
Hill District to Sewickley to Homestead. She and her sister were raised in foster homes which
exposed them to a wide variety of environments and cultural experiences. They were encouraged to
enjoy education and the arts. She sang in church, acted in plays, played the flute, taught herself to play
the piano and enjoyed attending Pittsburgh Symphony concerts.
At about age 7 she began disassembling and reassembling jewelry. She attended first secretarial
school and the took a course in fashion merchandising which led to an internship at Kaufmann's. She
paused to raise her son and daughter, but continued to follow trends and read Women's Wear Daily
every chance she got in order to stay current with fashion trends. She then began to experiment with
jewelry design, taking classes at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, the Bead Mine and even at her
church to refine her craft.
Her designs come to her by looking at the beads and "visualizing" them in a piece, either earrings,
necklaces or bracelets.
She has also written about 14 children's stories and about 70 plus quattrains that she hopes to break
out soon.From the time she was a child, she could make up silly games to entertain herself, her sister
and her foster sisters and every once in a while she will bring out her "game booth" and go to a
community festival or carnival.
Barb can be found at the Father Ryan Art Center.