John Barker took his first art class in the basement of The New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts when he was 12. This was an experience in which he immediately realized all of the other students were more interesting than the still life he was supposed to draw. He drew scribble figures flying around and the teacher put him in charge of watching a woman named Rosemary, because she liked to eat the paint. Life has unfolded in these weird anomalies for John and has continued to do so ever since.