In this ongoing series, we are delighted to introduce you to two more of the many artists who are part of Concord’s thriving art scene. For more on what’s happening in the arts this fall, turn to “Arts Around Town” in this issue.

KYLE JOHNS

Widely exhibited and published artist and teacher Kyle Johns is the new Ceramics Artist-in-Residence at The Umbrella Arts Center. With an MFA from Ohio University, Kyle has been a resident at Red Lodge Clay Center, The Interdisciplinary Ceramics Research Center, The Archie Bray Foundation, and The International Ceramics Center in Kecskemet, Hungary. He has taught at Kansas State University, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and the Ceramics Program at Harvard University. Kyle’s work deconstructs traditional industrial mold-making processes and functional domestic objects – from mugs and shot glasses to vases and holiday ornaments – to create unique new forms that explore “the grey area” between the practical and the sculptural. His work will be on view at The Umbrella’s newly expanded Ceramics Studio. Kylejohnsceramics.com

BARBARA H. WILLIS

Barbara Willis took her first weaving course in Los Gatos, California, in the mid-’70s, and more than 45 years later, her excitement and passion for the art of fiber is still very much alive. Weaving threads of chenille, silk, cotton, bamboo, rayon, wool, and mohair, Willis finds inspiration in other artworks and forms, as well as in nature - sunsets over Fort Pond, the emerging colors of feathers on a juvenile barred owl, colorful fish while snorkeling - to create exciting, dazzlingly colored and textured scarves, throws, garments, and large-scale wall hangings. Her works are always one-of-a-kind, many employing a painstaking, thread-by-thread hand-painting technique using fiber-reactive dyes. 

Willis is among the founding Studio Artists that have been at the heart of The Umbrella Arts Center community over the last 40 years, ever since the former Emerson School became a thriving and growing creative hub in 1983. This past season, Willis’ work was featured in a mixed exhibition, Earth, Sea, Sky, along with ceramics artists Liz Newell and Suzanne Hill, and she often welcomes visitors to weaving demonstrations in Studio 210 during The Umbrella’s annual Winter Market and Open Studios community events. Barbara-h-willis.com