NEWFIELD - Barbara O’Brien, a well-known Maine potter and owner of BarnSwallow Pottery & Antiques in Newfield since 1976, passed away at home on Wednesday October 7th. She was watched over and cared for by her daughter, Alyssa, various close family friends, and of course, Tucker, her beloved cat.
Barbara was born in Queens, New York, on June 21st 1945, to Richard and Sally von Philp. She graduated from The Wheatley School in Old Westbury, keeping in touch with a few classmates until the end of her life. Barbara did her undergraduate and graduate work at Stony Brook University, preparing for a career in teaching literature. After teaching for a few years she determined it was not her calling. She then found her true passion: ceramics.
She taught herself pottery with a home-made wheel she built from a kit in The Whole Earth Catalog and a “how to” book from the library propped open next to her, eventually having enough product to sell from a card table in the barn doorway of her then home in Waterboro. In 1976 she moved to Newfield, where she made a home and business in the village next to Willowbrook Museum.
Her work could also be found elsewhere. For forty-four years she sold pottery at United Maine Craftsmen’s Cumberland Arts & Crafts Show, set up in the exact same spot. Other shows she participated in included Laudholm Nature Crafts Festival, League of Maine Craftsmen Christmas Show, School Around Us, Seacoast Home & Garden Show and many others. She was a former Show Director of the Fall Festival of Crafts at Smiling Hill Farm. Barbara was a member of United Maine Craftsmen, Maine Crafts Association and Society of Southern Maine Craftsmen. She was involved with the Snowflake Trail, Stone Soup Artisans and Amicus. Her worked was featured in the Better Homes & Gardens, Kitchen & Bath Issue, Nov/Dec 2005. She did her last craft fair in 2015 and continued making pottery until 2018.
An avid reader, and lover of all animals, she greatly enjoyed traveling, especially if it involved going to the theater or museums. She was known for both her strong personality and sense of humor. Passionate about her beliefs, people were naturally drawn to her. She greatly enjoyed interacting with her customers, who often visited again and again. Many became friends.
Her tremendous legacy will live on in the thousands and thousands of pieces of her work that are cherished by people across the country and beyond, and in her shop, which will remain open. A Celebration of Life will be planned for June.
Online condolence messages can be submitted at the Chad E. Poitras Cremation and Funeral Service website, www.mainefuneral.com