SUMMARY
Mosaic artist interested in exhibition and public art opportunities.
EDUCATION
MINNEAPOLIS COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE
Associate’s Degree in Graphic Design 2004
HAMLINE UNIVERSITY
Master’s in Education 1996
CONCORDIA COLLEGE
Kindergarten Endorsement 1994
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
BS in Elementary Education 1988
PUBLIC ART
Design of Bemidji Regional Event Center epoxy terrazzo floor, Bemidji, MN
Kaiser Permanente Hospital, 2 mosaics, Los Angeles, CA
Health Partners, Woodbury, MN
Health Partners, Cottage Grove, MN
Olmsted Medical Center, Preston, MN
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Design of Roseville Bandshell Medallion - cement terrazzo, Roseville, MN
32 mosaics at Kaiser Medical (LAMC) including Mosaic Zoo ABC mosaics, Los Angeles, CA
Two Mosaics at St. Joseph's Hospital, St. Paul, MN
It is a Happy Talent to Know How to Play, St. Cloud Main Library, St. Cloud, MN
Together We Rise, the Rice Street Branch of the St. Paul Public Library System
O, Articella, Regions Hospital Medical Library
Looking Back, Willmar, MN
Hard To Say Goodbye, Willmar, MN
Eight mosaics from nursery rhyme series, University of Iowa Hospital, Iowa
Five mosaics from nursery rhyme series, Children’s Hospital of Austin, Texas
Moon Over the River, Clinic in Minneapolis, MN
Leaves, Health Partners Specialty Clinic in St. Paul, Minnesota
SOLO SHOWS
HOPKINS CENTER FOR THE ARTS Hopkins, MN Oct/Nov 2008
PHIPPS CENTER FOR THE ARTS Hudson, WI January/February 2008
BLOOMINGTON CENTER FOR THE ARTS Bloomington, MN November/December 2007
GALLERY 360 Minneapolis, MN April/May 2007
OLD GEM THEATER AND GALLERY, WI 2006
CORNUCOPIA ART CENTER, Lanesboro, MN 2006
BUFFALO FISH FINE ART GALLERY Willmar, MN 2006
MOSAIC ON A STICK St. Paul, MN 2006
MINNEAPOLIS PUBLIC LIBRARY WASHBURN Minneapolis, MN November 2005
GROUP SHOWS
Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Competition: 2009, 2008, 2006, 2004
Gallery 360 Five Foot Show, Minneapolis, MN 2009/2010
Red Wing Minnesota Mosaic Guild show, Red Wing, MN 2009
Minnesota Mosaic Guild Art-a-Whirl show, Minneapolis, MN 2007, 2008, 2009
Winona Summer on the River Show, Winona, MN 2006
Northrup King Studio Tours First Thursday Event, Minneapolis, Minnesota 2005
Undercroft Gallery, St. Paul, Minnesota 2005
Minnesota State Fair, St. Paul, Minnesota Fine Arts Competition, 2004
ArTrujillo Gallery, Northeast Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2004, 2005
Minnetonka Center for the Arts, Laura H. Miles Gallery, Minnetonka, MN, 2004
Artists du Nord Northern Showcase Blaine, Minnesota, 2004
Minnesota State Fair, Creative Activities Competition, 2002
GALLERIES - PAST AND PRESENT
Lanesboro Art Center, Lanesboro, MN
Something Original, Grand Rapids, MN
Buffalo Fish Fine Art Gallery, Willmar, MN
Mosaic on a Stick, St. Paul, MN
Clover Gallery, Harmony, MN
Gallery 360, Minneapolis, MN
Grand Hand Gallery, St. Paul, MN
Bluff Country Artist Gallery, Spring Grove, MN
Your Art's Desire, Minnetonka, MN
Artistic Indulgence, Minneapolis, MN
Rogues Gallery, St. Cloud, MN
Cattail Gallery, Park Rapids, MN
Long Lake Gallery, Park Rapids, MN
BOOKS
Mosaic Zoo: An ABC Book By Barbara Benson Keith 2008 (mosaic illustrations)
The Girls and Boys of Mother Goose Compiled and Illustrated by Barbara Benson Keith 2006 (mosaic illustrations)
Lazy Robert by Nancy DeRosa, Illustrated by Barbara Benson Keith 2006 (digital/painted illustrations)
LECTURES/APPEARANCES
Speaker at the National Tile Conference
Friends of the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts - Rochester Branch
Various school and library appearances
CURRENT PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Minnesota Mosaic Guild
Society of American Mosaic Artists
OTHER EXPERIENCE
FREELANCE GRAPHIC DESIGNER Apnex, Entellus, City of Anoka, Verona Publishing, Punkin Products, Alzheimer’s Association, American Book Publishers, What Box Creative, LexHam Theater, City of Roseville, Eureka Recycling, Lakeshore Players, Revolution, MindMaze Publications, Home Knob and Handle, Dani Werner, Eureka Recycling, more. (2002-present)
PROFESSIONAL ACTOR AND DIRECTOR Many employers and agencies such as Commonweal Theatre, Wixon Jewelers, Best Buy, Gedney Pickles, and Lifetouch Studios. Managed a school theater department program with a budget of over $12,000.(1995-present)
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER Many appointments such as Kindergarten Teacher and First Grade Teacher in the Mounds View School District. (1988-2000)
AWARDS
1st Place, Contemporary Art Mosaics Competition #3, Complimentary Colors
Named a 2007 Emerging Artist, FORECAST Public Art 2007
Minnesota Association of Government Communicators, Award of Merit 2006 (Design)
Honorable Mention, Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Competition 2006
Finalist, FORECAST Public Art Project, St. Paul, Minnesota 2006
Minnesota Association of Government Communicators, Award of Excellence 2004 (Design)
2nd Place, Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Competition 2004
1st Place, Minnesota State Fair Creative Activities Competition 2002
ARTIST STATEMENT
I am a self-taught glass mosaicist living in Lanesboro, Minnesota. My path to mosaics began when I took a class about stained glass windows. After creating several pieces, I had quite a bit of scrap glass and decided to try making a mosaic. I absolutely loved it and found that I had a knack for it. I created a second project, but that was it for a while. Then I was inspired by the ancient mosaics during a trip to Italy. Fired up, I couldn’t wait to return home to create another piece. They have been coming fast and furious ever since.
Drawing upon my training in art and graphic design, my artwork continues to evolve and change. Though I love completing a piece, one of my favorite parts of the process is looking at a blank space and knowing that before long I will have filled it, but at the moment, I have no idea what shape my creation will take.
I love working with glass. It is a very unique medium for mosaics and it is very striking whether viewed up close or from a distance. I’m fascinated with its special way of playing with the light, shining and showing off its beautiful color, and in its ability to create the illusion of depth.
BIO
Barbara Keith grew up in Hopkins, Minnesota. Always excited about art and especially drawing, she made sure every used piece of paper had a drawing on the back side. After graduation from Hopkins High School in 1984, she went to the University of Minnesota and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education. Barbara went on to teach elementary school for twelve years including one year as an art teacher, earning her Master’s in Education from Hamline University.
In 2000, she left teaching to travel and pursue other interests, obtaining a degree in Graphic Design from the Minneapolis Community and Technical College. She currently works as an artist.