Retha established BArts Academy to ensure traditional physical disciplines are preserved and handed on. Grounded in regional materials, her studio teaching focuses on forging pigments, preparing raw grounds, and mastering foundational hand work.
In small studio cohorts, every lesson centers on physical self-reliance. We teach creators to work directly with the land, building deep material knowledge alongside classic studio practice.
Three studio pillars
Hand work first
Local earth materials
Studio self-reliance
We prioritize direct physical contact with raw media, teaching students the mechanical discipline of traditional brushmaking, pulp pulling, and clay shaping.
Students gather and process natural riverbed clays, plant fibers, and mineral rocks from Barberton, discovering how local geology yields authentic studio supplies.
By mastering material synthesis, practitioners escape reliance on commercial substitutes and build an intimate, lifelong understanding of their medium.
Work alongside master practitioners
Join us in our Barberton studio or access guided online modules to learn handed-down studio skills directly from our teaching staff.