Joey Barrett is an artist and teacher living in Minneapolis.

She draws, paints, sews, animates, and prints in the comfort of her own basement. The rest of the time, she teaches art to little ones in Minneapolis and chases after her two young children.

She holds a BA in Studio Art and Art History from Clark University and an M.Ed in Art Education from the University of Minnesota.

Artist Statement

I have always been perplexed by the dissonance between an internal experience and its external appearance. The purpose of my art is to make sense of this dissonance. 

My drawings and animations are simple line contours of the external moments which make up daily living. These moments are ordinary and mundane; I merely record what I see. But by studying these snapshots so closely, I start to see the internal experience imbued in the external evidence. Breaking down my child putting on a shoe, for example, I see how this tiny moment reflects her thinking, learning, and feeling. I see all the other moments that came before it, came even before her or me. Each tiny gesture carries a world of meaning and history. 

These works capture the harmony and discord of being human. Looking closely at my most intimate surroundings grounds me and reflects my most prayerful, meditative moments.