Polly Barton

“My gesture as an artist is tied to the expressive nature of ikat. It is in the saturated stain and resist of dye to silk thread, the elegant simplicity of the shift of one color next to another, and the authority of the grid where I find pleasure in my woven paintings.”
 
For over 25 years, beginning with her apprenticeship to traditional Japanese master Sensei Tomohiko Inoue, Polly Barton has used the medium and tools of classical ikat-dyeing and weaving to create luminous abstract and representational textile art. As a weaver, Polly works in a very painterly manner, building up layers of color to create stunning designs that convey highly emotional messages; at times bold, other times extremely subtle. She also uses the Japanese technique of E-kasuri or pictorial ikat to create more representational images.