While Barbara Bustard-Burnside does create art in other mediums, she has been primarily a ceramic artist for 25 years working in hand building, sculpture and on the wheel. For all of those years, she has shared her talents with children in school programs, summer camps,church programs, Senior Centers and women’s Retreats. She also teach classes in her private studio to both children and adults.
The majority of Barbara's work in camps and afterschool programs has been a ministry. As a member of the Order of Urban Missioners, she is committed to ministry in the city. In particular she is committed to encouraging creativity and artistic expression as an acceptable and useful tool for expressing feelings and building self-confidence and self-esteem.
Bustard-Burnside has worked with children from all areas of life. She has taught ceramics to blind children, developmentally disabled children, children with HIV, and children who have one or both parents incarcerated, as well as the inner city children
Art is such an important piece of education and it pains Barbara that the art curriculum is not as prevalent in the schools today.
Barbara Bustard-Burnside received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Religious Studies with a concentration in Art from The College of Notre Dame of Maryland in 2002.