Barbara van Buskirk, Albuquerque, New Mexico


	résumé • gallery • exhibitions • about monotype • artist's statement • artist's bio • contact

I am the middle daughter in a small family and was raised in the town of Mars, Pennsylvania, which is located about 35 miles north of Pittsburgh. My dad, who was born and raised in New York City, and my mom, whose family had lived in or near Mars for generations, both felt living in a small town was no hindrance to being exposed to, appreciating, practicing and supporting the arts in all forms. Books, including poetry, always were available. I read voraciously and started writing a journal when I was 11 years old. Music was important on my mother’s side of the family. Grandma played piano and organ for years at Kiwanis and church, respectively. You knew we were going to have some kind of fun when grandma would sit down at the piano in her living room, let her fingers start flying, and lead us in a sing-along. My mom was a member of the North Suburban Fine Arts League, which sponsored Pixie Plays. This professional quality theatrical group made the rounds of and performed at public schools in the area. I loved Pixie Plays and glowed in the reflected light of the stage. On my father’s side of the family, the visual arts were a strong thread. My grandfather, Carl Orem van Buskirk, studied with Frank Duveneck in Cincinnati and lived and worked as an artist first in the Midwest and then in New York City. My dad graduated from the High School of Music and Art in New York City and pursued a lifelong interest in photography, while also providing for his family as a draftsman and salesman. I drew and painted, read, wrote, played the piano and organ, sang, and took dance classes in tap and ballet. I grew up believing – and still believe – the arts are as necessary to daily living as breathing, eating, sleeping and dreaming.

Life is a journey. I’ve lived and worked in Pennsylvania; Boston and Gloucester, Massachusetts; on a sailboat on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway; in St. Petersburg, Florida; and in New Mexico. I’ve had a day job for as long as I can remember. I began working at the age of 15 and have worn many different hats over the years, including library aide, soda jerk, waitress, receptionist, secretary, administrative assistant, designer/writer/editor, prep cook in a Japanese restaurant, castle tour guide, assistant administrator, visitor services assistant and docent in two different art museums, marina custodian, and administrator. I currently work half-time as an artist and half-time with the Taos Summer Writers’ Conference in the Department of English Language and Literature at The University of New Mexico.

My husband and I live in a little cluster of Bart Prince townhouses in Albuquerque. We love the arts and traveling to visit family and friends or simply for a change of scenery.