Dorothy Gill Barnes (born Dorothy Ellen Gill; May 30, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American artist. She was known for her use of natural materials in woven and sculpted forms.
Early life and education
Dorothy Ellen Gill[1] was born in Strawberry Point, Iowa, the daughter of Gorda J. Gill, the owner of a furniture store, and Dorothy Moninger Gill. She was the third of four sisters.[1] Her aunt Margaret Moninger was a missionary teacher in Hainan, China.[2]
In the late 1960's, Barnes discovered the work of basket maker Dwight Stump. His work with white oak wood inspired her to take her art materials from nature. She began creating small, non-traditional baskets and proceeded to make larger and more complex pieces that used wire, stone, glass and wood. She collected wood from all over Ohio.[1]
Barnes was known for gathering and using natural materials for her woven and sculpted forms,[5] including techniques from woodworking, basketry[6] and tapestry.[7] She made dendroglyphs (also known as arborglyphs),[8] markings on live tree bark, allowed to develop scarring for months or years before using that section of bark in a sculpture. In one case she waited 14 years to harvest the result of her tree sculpting.[1] She credited Kay Sekimachi, Osma Gallinger Tod, and Ed Rossbach among her notable influences.[4][9]
Barnes taught at Simpson College and Parsons College as a young woman. She taught at Capital University as an adjunct instructor from 1966 to 1990.[10] She also taught frequently and hosted workshops at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine, and the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina.[1] Her husband was a music professor, and she often made costumes, props and posters for campus musical productions; she also designed covers for his recordings. She taught workshops internationally, in New Zealand, Australia, Denmark, Fiji, and Canada, and across the United States, from Hawaii to New England.[11] She was active in Habitat for Humanity and Central Ohioans for Peace.[3]
Personal life and death
Dorothy Gill married composer Marshall H. Barnes in 1952; she made her own wedding ring in a metal shop at the University of Iowa. They had three sons and a daughter. They lived in Ohio since 1957, when her husband joined the faculty of the Ohio State University.
