Karen Borga Fiber Artist

Karen Borga

Fiber Artist

My Collaboration with Nature

Through fleece, fiber, and natural materials, my work emerges through a collaboration with nature.

Studio

Shelves of yarn cones and weaving materials in Karen Borga's fiber art studio

Rooted in generations of handwork, my practice explores the transformation of raw materials through weaving, spinning, dyeing, and feltmaking. Each piece begins with curiosity and unfolds through a collaboration between maker, material, and nature.

Karen Borga hanging naturally dyed fabric samples outdoors

Fiber

Raw fleece resting on an open journal in the studio

Every piece begins with fiber.

Raw fleece, yarn, and natural materials are gathered, studied, and explored before they become cloth, felt, or finished work. Through observation, experimentation, and making, I seek to understand the character of each material and the possibilities it holds.

These studies form the foundation of my weaving, feltmaking, natural dye, and textile work.

Natural Navajo Churro fleece used in Karen Borga's fiber art practice
Cone of handspun yarn used for weaving in Karen Borga's studio

Notes from the Studio

A pallet stacked with raw sheep fleeces at a farm before being cleaned and prepared for handspinning.

A Pallet of Possibilities

A gifted pallet of raw sheep fleeces became years of creative possibility. Join fiber artist Karen Borga as she shares the story behind the wool—and why every finished piece begins long before anyone sees it.

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Sketch for the beginning of WOOLBORNE Collection Two beside raw Romney fleece on a studio worktable.

Collection Two Begins

The First WOOLBORNE Collection, and I am so proud of this work. It took me a year to arrive at something I’d put my name on—and along the way, plenty of people told me to just put it out there, that it was good enough. They don’t know me. I wasn’t ready to release it….

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collage of fleeces

My Palette Begins with Fleece

When people imagine an artist’s studio, they often picture shelves lined with paint—rows of colors waiting to become a landscape, a portrait, or an abstract work. My studio has shelves too. But instead of tubes of paint, they’re filled with fleece. Romney. Icelandic….

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