Barbara Hughes has been a studio artist for over 35 years. (See ART). For most of her career, she has done figurative ceramic sculpture. Her work has been exhibited in many cities including Atlanta, Washington, DC and New York. Her Cathedral Nativity is the official crèche of the Washington National Cathedral. Recently she has turned to painting and her current show (see EVENTS) is painting on wood. She has taught sculpture and art classes in a variety of settings.

Barbara has led workshops on various aspects of art and spirituality for over 30 years for the Episcopal Church and for other groups. She is Visiting Instructor in Art and Theology at the School of Theology in Sewanee, teaching seminary students how to explore their spirituality through art.

Herself a survivor of childhood sexual violence, Barbara has worked with many other survivors of abuse and has written, lectured and done art about the subject (see “The Spiritual Questions of Sexually Abused Children” in CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE). She now leads art retreats especially for survivors of childhood sexual abuse and other trauma at her Rahamim Retreat and ClayHouse (see RAHAMIM RETREATS).

She has gone on four mission trips to Eastern Europe through GOAL Project (Global Outreach for Addiction Leadership), doing art with children and adults and teaching about codependency and sexual abuse. She plans to go to Haiti this fall. She is also a member of the Cumberland Center for Justice and Peace.

Barbara received her BA from Bucknell University (Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude) and did further study in art at Ohio University and the University of Toronto, where she did course work similar to a BFA in America. She did an intensive course in sculpture and ceramics at the Museum School of the Museum of Fine Art in Boston. She has taken the basic course in art therapy, and worked with an art therapist for many years.

She is married to the Rev. Dr. Robert Hughes, Professor of Theology and Spirituality at the School of Theology in Sewanee, and has two sons, two daughters-in-law and two grandchildren.

It is her belief that the arts are a powerful tool for healing, both inside ourselves and in the world.

Titles from top to bottom: Sophia’s Sanctuary, Witness Protest and Grace