Studio Sessions: Colleen Louise Barry  

It’s hard not to smile around artist and writer Colleen Louise Barry. Bubbly and bright, she radiates optimism and cheer that would put most stereotypical Seattleites on edge. I think she is an absolute delight. Originally from Albany, Barry received her MFA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, before moving to Seattle in 2016. Once here, she opened Mount Analogue gallery (closed in 2019) in Pioneer Square before joining SOIL. Working across a rainbow of disciplines, Barry moves easily between writing, ceramics, photography, poetry, and installation, participating in shows and residences in local creative spaces including Recology King County, Actualize, Seattle Art Fair, and the Seattle Art Museum.

Currently, Barry has a solo show, Safety Dance, at Hologram Gallery in Pioneer Square. “Safety Dance is interested in the twin theaters of danger and protection,” Barry says. “The works in this show all strive to create a sense of imminent menace or enduring refuge, examining the tension present between these through the eyes of animals, children, and mothers. The show is truly multidisciplinary, containing my latest ideas about ceramics, photography, sculpture, painting, and poetry—everything is united through color and texture. Some of the ceramics are talismans built to offer protection or luck; some of them are whistles and sound like trains in the distance.”

Multidisciplinary artist and writer Colleen Louise Barry.

Photo by Mel Kagerer Photography

Playful, raw, and elemental, the works in the show capture a feeling of whimsy tinged with a sense of melancholy, almost like a child testing the waters of independence and enjoying the thrill, but not yet ready to give up the cloak of parental oversight. Bright colors and dreamy forms reinforce a sense of play and magic—two elements that we are never too old to embrace. 

Safety Dance will be on display at Hologram Gallery through September 24. 

Name

Colleen Louise Barry

Hometown

Albany, NY

Discipline

Multidisciplinary artist and writer, working mostly in and between sculpture, poetry, photography, installation, and ceramics.

Favorite Spot in Seattle

Lincoln Park 

Talismanic Sequence, one of Barry’s pieces in Safety Dance, taps into the long history of objects used as a source of magic, power, good luck, and protection.

Photo by Ryan Warner Photography

Describe your work in three words.

Expansive. Playful. Earnest.

When did you know you wanted to be an artist?

I have always made art and written poetry and stories. It is my way of processing the world. 

When my son was born a couple years ago, I became more intentional about my professional studio practice as an artist who sells my work for profit. 

Safety Dance includes works in a range of media—ceramics, photography, painting, sculpture—and looks at the tension between impending threat and refuge.

Photo by Ryan Warner Photography

Where do you find inspiration?

Everything is inspiring, truly. But when I am stuck, I open a book. A book has never failed to give me something worthwhile. 

What are you working on now?

The other day I drove by this enormous, abandoned trampoline top leaning against a rusty old fence. I thought and thought about it, and when I got home I said to my husband, I need it. So, we strapped it to the top of our car, and it’s been sitting in our driveway for a while as I figure out what to do with it. I stare at it every day and I see a story coming soon—I think I’ll make a big embroidery on it. Something epic and narrative, something Boschian. 

A detailed shot of a work in Safety Dance.

Photo by Ryan Warner Photography

What draws you to your particular medium?

I am insatiable and must try everything! 

Tell us about your proudest moment as an artist.

My proudest moment as an artist (so far) is when I completed my residency at Recology last summer—it was the first thing I had done as an artist since giving birth. The residency required discipline and challenged me enough to push me into a new world and way of working. At the opening of our end-of-residency exhibition, my amazing community was there and showed me so much support and love. It was so special.  

As part of her 2025 residency at Recology King County, Colleen Louise Barry participated in an exhibition Beautiful and Perfect, held at Mutuus Studio.

Courtesy of Colleen Louise Barry 

Share one piece of advice you wish you knew when you were first starting out.

As Macho Man Randy Savage says, the cream rises to the top. Get to know and learn to listen to the most authentic voice inside you. It is ok to ignore the rest.  

Define success on your terms.

Professional success right now is enough time to take care of myself and my loved ones while also having enough money to pay the rent and the bills and not worry about paying them the next month. 

In your opinion, what makes the Seattle art industry unique?

Artists have a unique set of challenges in Seattle. While Seattle is a wonderful place in so many ways, and rests on its laurels as a creative haven, it can be inhospitable to working artists. It is expensive to live here, it is difficult to find space, it is difficult to find collectors and galleries that can financially support you, and it is difficult to get national notice. But with these things comes incredible resilience and an unshakeable community infrastructure. 

What do you still hope to accomplish?

Oh, I have so much to do!!! May I never stop working towards a new, bigger, sparklier goal. Also, potty training my son.

WILD RIDE, created by Barry and Mary Anne Carter (and fabricated with the help of Wishbone Industrial Arts) is an installation located in the Westlake light rail station.

Photo by Ryan Warner Photography

If you weren’t making art, what would you be doing?

Teaching preschool in absolutely unhinged outfits. 

Who do you admire and why?

My mom’s curiosity, my dad’s creativity, my husband’s fastidiousness, and my son’s sense of humor.