about BARB KOBE
Art has always been a part of my life. I loved art classes and often helped create art for high school plays, musical productions and dances. After high school I spent one year at the University of Iowa.  After college  I worked for over twenty years in the fields of engineering drafting, graphic arts, advertising, and print and multi-media production.

I had children in 1982 and 1984 and my world as a professional graphic artist shifted focus. Up until then I would never call myself an artist nor own that I had a creative mind – I always said I was a production artist that helped others visualize their ideas, but don’t ask me to create from my imagination. The pivotal point came during a facilitator training about self-esteem and parenting.  At mid-week in the training I made a decision to become conscious and grow.  As I parented my children (then 2 and 4) with this new information and worked on their self-esteem I reparented myself.  An important person (a mentor) in my life asked me to draw some characters for a program she was developing.  I told her that I couldn’t draw and she said, “I think you can and I’ll wait for you to decide you can.”  That comment gave me permission to take a risk and begin on my path of creative discovery.  Later on, another person said to me, “Oh, Barbara, you’re so good at art, of course you’ll be a good writer.”  This again gave me permission to try writing.   Once my creative juices started boiling I couldn’t be stopped.  I became a creating and learning machine.  The more I created the more I wanted to know about creativity and myself. I noticed that when I would do art with my children I would give them permission to be creative, to take risks and find out “what happens if”.  I love the feeling of creating and facilitating others being creative.

In 1989, in attempt to teach my children about emotional communication, I created a group of characters called The Endangered Feelings Animals (Angerilla, Crynoceros, Trifearatops and Happypotomus).  First I drew them, then I designed puppets. I used them with my children, and they used them with me. Eventually I mass manufactured them for school counselors and social workers.  I also created some other little soft sculpture dolls called Numbfull and The Fulls (Tearfull, Fearfull, Ragefull and Joyfull) and mass manufactured them.  As I made each of these soft sculptures I would work through my feelings….anger issues when making Angerilla, grief with Crynoceros.  I began to realize that making art changed my emotional state. I noticed that I could take my anger out of my body and have a conversation with it by having Angerilla sitting right next to me (or any of the others).  When I would share my puppets with others we would have long conversations about feelings and I realized that many people were stuffing their feelings and had never learned how to talk about feelings.  In producing these characters I learned about myself and the business aspects of art.

    At the same time I was raising my kids, making puppets, and producing an occasional art job I moved into an educational mode.  My first education experience came in the form of Neuro-Linguistic Programming certification. I discovered learning style theory and communication styles among other things.  I was empowered in my learning style and realized that I was an intelligent woman who processed information visually.  I learned mind mapping and began, for the first time, to consciously take in information and think for myself.  I then decided that I wanted to go back to school and complete my BA. I started by taking some art classes at a community college and to make a long story short I graduated in 1999 with my BA in psychology and honors; with an art therapy focus. I paid for my entire education with the money I made from making my feeling creations.

   In between I kept very busy saying YES! to any experience that came along.   I had my own company called Visualize through which I designed and manufactured therapeutic dolls and puppets focusing on the subject of emotional intelligence.  I facilitated parenting/self-esteem classes and small business groups.  Through my university I designed an adolescent girls’ self-esteem support group curriculum and facilitated those groups for four years.  I conducted various workshops, presentations and classes covering a variety of subjects: self-esteem; parenting; emotional intelligence; child development and creativity.  I taught art classes through an art center to all ages.  I got involved in the Odyssey of the Mind program, a creative problem solving competition.  I coached creativity, judged creativity and training creativity coaches.

   Ten years ago I decided that I was tired of making the big puppets.  I went to the craft section of a bookstore one night and a book sealed in cellophane fell at my feet.  It was called MOTHER PLAYS WITH DOLLS by elinor peace bailey. I figured this was a sign so I bought it and read it that night.  It was filled with information about how dollmaking could affirm my process; that dollmaking could be used to nurture my creative spirit.  I decided I was going to try this.  I wrote a letter to elinor thanking her for being alive and writing the book.  She called me several days later from California and when I asked her what I should do about the puppets she said, “Honey, if you’re tired of doing them, stop.  Something else will move in.”  Again another mentor, another permission to change a belief and take action.  It wasn’t long after that I witnessed my first show of art dolls, met the artist and gave myself permission to try out this art form.  I loved it from the start and have been making art dolls ever since.  I’ve had several shows since then and usually sell everything I produce.  I am especially interested with art and healing. The most of my dolls focus on my emotional and health issues. I have discovered that my creations speak to many others. I am nurtured by my dollmaking.