Hi! I’m Barb, a weaver and textile artist from Lincoln, Nebraska.

I grew up in a family where my mother sewed and knitted, and my father was always making and tinkering with his hands. Through their influence, my passion for weaving began as a young college student after I saw a room full of looms for the first time. So I decided to study weaving, dyeing, and spinning at the university and have been creating ever since!

Inspired by the natural world, my art has taken me to some very special places including an apprenticeship in New Mexico where I restored Native American rugs and textiles. I’ve also enjoyed creating a collection of weavings at an artist’s residence in the quaint Icelandic village of Patreksfjörður. These experiences along with my education taught me how to spin and dye my own yarn and create weavings of all various sizes while introducing me to an array of looms. 

Amid my passion for textiles, I married my husband Rodney whom I share over 30 years of marriage along with six children. Much like my weavings, we dreamed of cultivating a life that was intricately intertwined with family memories of love, creativity, and hope. Today, I’ve been able to pass down my passion for weaving to my eldest daughter, and have instilled a love for the arts in all of my children just as my parents instilled it in me.  

Now as my children have grown, I find myself back at the loom - connecting with one of my earliest passions, and hence - Open Door Studios was born. A single-bedroom studio tucked away on our upper floor with a wide enough window to overlook the front of our property. A space carved out just for me where I find meaning and joy, purpose and fulfillment.

So I hope that these creations find you well. That you may stick around, browse a bit, and let them stir something new in you. That at the very least, they inspire you to reconnect to those people, places, and passions that move you most.

Warmly,

Barb