For my 50th birthday, I gave myself a week-long glassblowing workshop at Snow Farm in Williamsburg, MA. Mostly, I learned that it takes more than a week to learn glassblowing: my “final project” of a glass ball ornament deflected the Christmas tree branch downward at least 60 degrees, and would be much more suitable for […]

Barbie’s amazing power led me to become a Barbiologist, studying her in my laboratory. My research suggests that Barbie brilliantly reflects our fears and our desires. Review of Plastic Princess at Montserrat College of Art by Adrienne LaFrance Review of Plastic Princess at the Housatonic Museum by Donna Doherty

An installation byGwendolyn HolbrowArtist’s Statement A mirror is at the intersection of two worlds, the one we live in and can touch and tasteand smell, and another we can only see. A mirror can be a window into that other world,and into the intangible space of thoughts and dreams, feelings and ideas; the world inwhich […]

In 2006 and 2007, I needed to make solid speech balloons, mostly in plaster, but also bronze, marble, and glass. The Artist’s Valentine awarded me another grant for this work in 2006 (thank you, Artist’s Valentine!), and some of the plaster pieces, the large marble speech balloon, and one tiny bronze appeared at the Mazmanian […]

Two of my sculptures I love, River of Grass and It Was Here, appeared in the 2006 Contemporary Sculpture at Chesterwood, Berkshire estate and summer home of sculptor Daniel Chester French. Installation of River of Grass was challenging; many thanks to my sister, art conservator Katherine Holbrow, for her assistance with that sweaty job! Both […]

I created Make Way For Calflings for the 2006 Boston Cow Parade. It is, of course, based on Make Way For Ducklings, the beloved children’s book by Robert McCloskey, and the bronze sculpture in Boston’s Public Garden by Nancy Schön. Luckily for me, the Cow Parade folks had some small fiberglass base cows I could […]

I am thrilled to have won a grant in the 2003 Artist’s Valentine Grant competition for my Barbie body of work. The juror was Nick  Capasso, director of the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park.  Many thanks to the Artist’s Valentine committee, especially Sally Reed. I have used the award to buy a cement mixer. I […]

In Websight, a loom is warped with string, colored thread and cassette tape. The weft includes fibers from many sources, including my own hair, Barbie hair and clothing, wire, nails, printed music, chicken bones and other personally significant items from different periods of my life. The warp lines run up to the ceiling and fan […]

My latest project is mailbox art, and all the neighbors still speaking to us say it’s awesome. The eyes light up! I’ve had lots of positive reviews of both my visual art and my writing this summer, and the New England Sculptors Association recently invited me to join. More great feedback on the Universal Application […]

First professor of Barbiology? On Friday, May 3, I gave a lecture on “The History and Art of Barbie” to Professor Marjorie Pechet’s English Composition class at Framingham State College  It was fun, and well received, and I look forward to doing it again. Today my sister Katie and I received the silver medal for […]