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
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….
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….
Why Wool Is My Medium
Why did wool become my lifelong medium? The answer isn’t simply about texture or technique—it’s about listening to a material that already knows what it wants to become.