My studio practice is multifaceted, the media range from handmade paper to tapestry and more recently, felt. My interest lies specifically in the manipulation of images, materials and process to offer new translations. I often shift them out of their normal context to create a work, which is unexpected.

Felt is a solid, supple anti-fabric. It implies no separation of threads, no intertwining, only an entanglement of fibres obtained by fulling. Feltmaking transforms ordinary fleece from sheep into artworks, which seem deceptively spontaneous. The process of preparing, arranging, piecing and layering unrelated parts into a unified patterned whole is extremely interesting to me. In am inspired by historic quilts, of constructing and deconstructing and by the process of collecting and assembling the felted material into a new work created with regards to specific themes or responses to ideas.

Barbara McCaffrey received her B.F.A. degree in Textiles from the Alberta College of Art & Design in Calgary. She works in a variety of fibre media that includes handmade felt, paper, woven tapestry and mixed media. Barbara has exhibited in galleries throughout Alberta, British Columbia as well as selected shows in the United States. Her local representation is at the J. Mitchell Gallery on Salt Spring Island where she now resides.

Recently her work was included in juried exhibits at the Convergence 2002 in Vancouver, the Sooke Fine Arts Show and the Fran Willis Gallery in Victoria.