Bio

Photo Credit: Tony Ng

Bev Barnett is an fiber artist who loves to push boundaries. Blending traditional fiber techniques with unexpected materials and approaches, Barnett uses recycled paper, naturally dyed fabric and upcycled fiber 'stand-ins' such as used guitar strings – homage to her dual role as visual artist and singer-songwriter.  Both her artwork and her songwriting explore themes of human connection and the promise of limitless possibility. 

Texture is always at the heart of her work, which has been included in the 2025 Crocker Kingsley exhibition and the 2023 Slice exhibition of contemporary California art at the Pence Gallery in Davis, Calif. 

Now living and working in the Sacramento California area, Barnett grew up in a home where a shoebox could be a dollhouse, and the lid of a mayonnaise jar the swimming pool. She learned the art of plant-based papermaking and the joy of breaking artistic rules from her mother, an accomplished watercolor and paper artist. In the early 2000s she studied ceramic hand-building with Sara Swink at Clay Circle Studio (now in Portland OR). This experience was the catalyst for the richly textured narratives of her more recent fiber work, and her quest for texture led Barnett to continue discovering new methods and learning new techniques including plant-fiber weaving, encaustic, flax papermaking, collage and fiber sculpture. 
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In addition to her creative roles as artist and singer-songwriter, Barnett is a workshop leader, inspirational speaker, and has a background in arts non-profit management and board work.