Nature runs through Cade’s work. The artist started as a self-taught weaver in the late 60s, but quickly found the floor loom restrictive. She created ritualistic sculptures with primitive looms, sticks, bones and handspun horsehair, using hands-on, time-consuming processes. Her influences were the symbolism and the content of ancient art.

Today the artist continues to experiment, finding ideas from her photos, memories and news events to make multimedia pieces. With wet-felting, crochet or weaving as the canvas, her work incorporates fiber techniques, printing, clay, found objects and new construction materials, anything that makes the idea work. Her most current work is the BONFIRE series which expresses her growing concern for the Earth.

“After getting things organized for the new website, it was interesting for me to see how close I had come to a goal I had stated out loud way back in 1970 when I was a beginner….. that I wanted to make “large pieces and psychological pieces.” When I said this, I had no art vocabulary to use, but I knew what I meant…..I wanted to create work with ideas that had a connection to something in my life, ideas that connected me to the world.  I think I have done that.” - Barbara Cade