I am a lover of the alive line - pencil, pen, brush and word -
of expression, connection and communication in all its forms.
It all began with the alphabet. My fascination with letters led me to calligraphy, book making, big brush gestures and collaborative performance art.
Illustrated journaling and visual blogging have also offered fresh and immediate ways to engage.
I invite you to explore the lines of connection offered here.
May they awaken the aliveness within us all.
Upcoming Workshops
Compassionate Brush : Calligraphy & Communication Practice
Saturday, March 15th , 2025
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Making a mark, with brush and ink, brings vision down to earth, through the body, onto the page. The practice of Nonviolent Communication is also a grounding act. How we speak can come from our embodied awareness and create connection with ourselves and others. Working with large horsehair brushes and buckets of ink, we will explore this interweaving of silence and form, space and body, aloneness and connection through brush stroke and dialogue.
at The Kiva, MaMA, Marbletown Multi Arts
3588 Main St. Stone Ridge NY
Hosted by the Holistic Health Community
For more information and to register
AWAKE MIND : Write / Draw / Contemplate
with Victress Hitchcock & Barbara Bash
Where do our stories come from ? How do we bring them to life in words and images ?
A Day Long Virtual Retreat
Hosted by Sky Lake Meditation Center
Saturday, May 3 10 AM - 6 PM ET
Spend a day with writer Victress Hitchcock and artist Barbara Bash exploring the world of memory, through contemplation, words, and images. Come play in the virtual space of non-conceptual creativity !
For more information
The Voice of the Brush
Line / Stroke / Word
May 16-18 , 2025
Come explore the range of expression of the Chinese brush.
Beginning with the grounding straight line practice (ichi), a seated experience of Tai Chi Chuan, we will move to big strokes, big brushes and buckets of ink, held and guided by the principles of heaven, earth and human. In the end our unique handwriting will carry the distilled voice of haiku, opening and revealing the moment. No previous art experience needed. Only the willingness to take a leap.
Karme Choling Meditation Center
Barnet, Vermont
For more information and to register
Ongoing Monthly Events
Circle Practice:
Strengthening the Heart
See No Enemy / Hear What Matters:
The Practice of Nonviolent Communication
The Flow Game:
A Way to Find Clarity Together
For more details go to Workshops
Barbara Bash is now offering her services as a mediator
working with individuals, families, schools & teams on zoom and in person.
For more details go to Mediation | NVC
Art Available
Giclée prints of original art available for sale
Go to Expressive Writing and Children’s Books in the Gallery section to see Giclée and Original Art for sale.
Visit True Nature : A Visual Blog
I traveled back to this intensely alive place last month. It was my fourth time visiting Guinea in twenty years. We danced, made music, did batik dyeing, and connected with each other and this complex world of family, musicians and dance teachers. I also opened the sketchbook and looked out . . .
I have been writing these for the past year, often just after waking.
It has become a way to tune in to the world - and myself.
The 5 - 7 - 5 syllable constraint has been satisfying to play within.
Then I began to add a brushstroke.
I write and illustrate for children because I trust the process of gathering these stories, in all their complexity, and then distilling them down to what is essential. That's what children see.
Go to Videos
Over the years I have collaborated with musicians, dancers and storytellers in performance. I am the visual voice, responding to the moment. leaving mysterious tracks behind.
