SOLVANG — The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature is pleased to announce its upcoming exhibition, Close to Home, Three Printmakers, featuring artists Claudia Borfiga, Karen Schroeder, and Sara Woodburn, on view in the Valley Oak gallery through February 2022. The public is invited to meet the artists on Sunday, October 17, 2021 from 3 – 5 p.m.
The works of Borfiga, Schroeder, and Woodburn center on a recurring theme of nature as a place of solace and beauty where growth and change can seem intimate or expansive. Layers of color, pattern, and printmaking are the dialogue these artists use to share stories of Earth. They value natural areas and seek to bring inspiration to the viewer.
For this exhibition Claudia Borfiga was inspired by new landscapes and plants, capturing her joyfulness in places like Ganna Walksa Lotusland, the Carrizo Plain National Monument, as well as Joshua Tree and Sequoia National Parks. These new works also mark a transition in her process.
“After many years making screen prints using stencil exposure, I’ve recently been exploring mono screen printing; something that feels closer to drawing or painting, freeing me to be more gestural, impulsive, and playful,” says Borfiga. “These prints capture an environment I’m in constant awe of.”
For Karen Schroeder, her work allows her to become a narrator through her series of new woodblock prints. The story is one of connections, a binding thread between humans and the natural world.
“My prints are a graphic story, a personal vision of the natural world, and one I love to share,” says Schroeder.
Sara Woodburn will present a year-long series of monthly “Quarantine Garden” woodblock prints capturing the changes and visitors to her backyard garden in Santa Barbara, as she narrowed her daily attentions waiting for a return to “normal” over the last year and a half.
“The waiting for a return to a ‘normal’ life is palpable, but bringing my attention to what is right outside and taking notice is beautiful and satisfying,” says Woodburn.
These three artists each provide distinct perspectives on the art of printmaking. Also included in the exhibition will be a display of the different tools used in their individual printmaking processes, as well as insight into how different style prints are created.
For more information and to follow programming updates throughout the exhibition, visit: www.wildlingmuseum.org/news/close-to-home.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Claudia Borfiga
Claudia Borfiga is a California-based artist specializing in screen printing; a medium that she enjoys for the technical boundaries it presents, as well as the physicality of pulling prints. Through her work, she’s compelled to communicate and amplify the sensations she feels when exploring the wonders of the natural world. As a teaching artist, Claudia uses her screen print workshops as a wide-ranging platform to foster community, as a means to explore trauma, and for the simple joy of getting other peoples’ hands messy. She enjoys making and learning in lots of formats, including growing her own veg.
Claudia grew up in the suburbs of London, and studied Textile Design at Loughborough University. Her affection for traditional textiles can be seen in her prints, with elements bursting across the page, forming patterns or pathways to be discovered. In celebrating the treasures found in natural environments, she hopes we are able to foster a deeper appreciation for them. For more information, visit: www.claudiaborfiga.com.
Karen Schroeder
Karen Schroeder grew up in Los Angeles, California, surrounded by the diversity of a big city. Her love of art began at an early age which led to a degree in art from California State University Northridge. She later received a Master’s Degree in Education and taught for many years.
Karen’s early travels to Central America, Mexico, Australia, and South Africa instilled in her a love of culture and the natural world. Nature is a constant theme in her prints. The woodcut is a way for Karen to share a visual story, a look through a new lens. “My goal is to create an image that the viewer would like to enter, a unique environment that welcomes you.”
Karen shows regularly at galleries on the Central Coast and is a member of the Santa Barbara Printmakers, California Society of Printmakers, Goleta Valley Art Association, Santa Barbara Art Association, and Carpinteria Arts Center. She has exhibited her work in solo shows in Santa Barbara, at the Faulkner Gallery East, and Gallery 113. In 2012 she won Best of Show at the Channing Peake Gallery, sponsored by the Santa Barbara Arts Commission. More recently, her work was highlighted in Montecito Magazine’s 2020 summer-fall issue as the cover artist. Karen continues to teach art to adults, giving workshops on white-line woodcuts. “Sharing my love of art with others gives me great joy.”
Sara Woodburn
Sara Woodburn is a native Californian, born in Long Beach and educated at UC Davis, who studied textile, graphic, and costume design. She studied yuzen, a kimono dyeing process, in Tokyo, Japan and started a hand-dyed textile and one-of-a-kind clothing business (Sara McCook Textiles) in the San Francisco Bay Area, later moving it to Santa Fe, New Mexico. In New Mexico, she was a frequent Artist-in-Residence, teaching students textile printing in communities all over the state. She earned an education credential at the University of New Mexico and was an educator in New Mexico and California for many years.
In 2012 and 2016, Sara was awarded scholarships to attend the prestigious Anderson Ranch Art Center in Colorado to study mokuhanga, the centuries-old Japanese woodblock printing method with the master printmaker, Hiroki Morinoue and reduction woodcut with Jean Gumpper. Her work has been shown at the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara, the Wildling Museum, the Elverhoj Museum, Marcia Burtt Gallery, Sullivan Goss Gallery, and Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum. Her collaborative series on climate change is currently on view at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in Santa Barbara. In 2019, she participated in a series of collaborative silkscreen workshops called Print Power, for survivors of domestic violence. She is a member of the California Society of Printmakers, Santa Barbara Printmakers, and part of the Santa Barbara Mesa Artists Studio Tour. For more information, visit: www.sarawoodburn.com.
ABOUT THE WILDLING MUSEUM
The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature, where art and nature meet, offers visitors a unique perspective on the importance of preserving our natural heritage. Through the eyes of artists, and education and field experiences, guests can renew their relationship with the wilderness and understand its fragile nature – hopefully leaving more committed toward ensuring those spaces remain for future generations. Current hours are Friday – Sunday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. For more information, and to volunteer or join as a member to support this important local arts and nature institution, please visit www.wildlingmuseum.org.
Additional digital resources are available at www.wildlingmuseum.org/virtual-visit, including online galleries from all current exhibitions, links to art activities, videos, and more to help online visitors experience the museum from home.