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Shoestring
Profile: Lea Barton
 Everyone
loves to hear a story about a late bloomer, or someone who
took advantage of a second chance in life. Just ask esteemed
local artist and Shoestring instructor Lea
Barton how it feels to find your path later than
most, and she'll tell you a tale that's bound to inspire.
"Without
art, I don't know what I would be doing," says Barton. "I
know I would be a lost soul. Art enabled me to fly."
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Barton
hasn't merely flown. She's soared, having created works that are
displayed in galleries and private collections from coast to coast.
Her challenging, textured multimedia works have been featured
in such prestigious locales as the National Museum for Women in
the Arts in Washington, DC. She has served as Artist-in-Residence
at the Mississippi Museum of Art and is a two-time recipient of
the Visual Arts Fellowship from the Mississippi Arts Commission.
Her
resume and portfolio are both spectacular, yet Barton is living
a life today that would have seemed incomprehensible 15 years
ago. "I always wanted to go to college, but life took me in a
different direction," she says. She worked for years as a legal
secretary, then entered Millsaps College as a 36-year-old freshman.
She more than made up for lost time, winning a Ford Fellowship
and graduating magna cum laude in art. She was one of 12 students
selected to teach at Millsaps as a junior, and again as a senior.
Upon graduation, she was accepted by the prestigious Pratt Institute
in New York City.
At
Pratt, she studied under the renowned artist Gillian Jagger, whom
she cites as a major influence on her work. "She encouraged me
to look within myself and my own life story, and to put that into
my art," says Barton. "She was so passionate about it. It was
a very intense and difficult process for me, but she helped me
to dig deep. I realized that I had always been concerned with
social justice themes, even when I did art as a child. Once I
realized that, it helped me to connect with my own work in a wholly
new way."
Her
experiences at Pratt impacted Barton beyond her own work. "I called
Robert Langford and asked if there was a place at Shoestring for
an artist to develop a program, " she recalls. Barton describes
her class as "structured free-form." "I encourage the kids not
to think of their work as a 'classroom assignment', but rather,
'What do you want to do?'"
Barton
believes that the lessons learned through the arts can be vital
in helping a child find her feet and spread her wings.
"I
realized that my life's thread, even though it was interrupted
for a while, really began in childhood," she says. "I wanted to
show these kids that it's possible to make a living as an artist,
but also to help them see that art can help to give them a sense
of belief in themselves. That's what it's all about."
If
I could pick another career: "Some kind of performance
career, like an actress or professional dancer… or a Rockette
at Radio City Music Hall! I love being on the stage. Maybe even
a politician!"
Career
I wouldn't want: "Anything in an office, or with computers."
Role
model: "Oh, I have so many. One would be Gillian Jagger,
for her ability to teach and still do her own work, but mainly
for her ability to tune into the needs of people who come into
her life and make doors open for them. She believes in you even
when you don't believe in yourself. I also admire Elise Smith
at Millsaps and my grandmother, Nora Gregory… strong women all.
And, of course, one of my greatest role models is my husband,
Ken."
You
can learn more about Lea Barton and view her work on her web
site.
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