Karen Borga
Fiber Artist
My Collaboration with Nature
Through fleece, fiber, and natural materials, my work emerges through a collaboration with nature.
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.
Fiber
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.
Notes from the Studio
Nature Participates
A quiet realization while reading about eco-printing led me to see fiber, plants, and natural materials differently. Nature is not simply a source of materials. It participates.
Onion Skin Experiments
For weeks I had been reading about eco-printing while quietly collecting onion skins in the kitchen. What began as an experiment with leaves became something else entirely—a discovery that I was more interested in the color itself than the print.
The Churro Fleece
A Navajo Churro fleece arrived in the studio carrying the marks of the landscape it came from. Before the wool becomes yarn or felt, there is a moment of discovery where the material reveals its own character.