Art Through the Window: A Conversation with Holli Harmon & Nicole Strasburg
Art Through the Window: A Conversation with Holli Harmon & Nicole Strasburg

The Wildling is pleased to announce its March virtual program, Art Through the Window: A Conversation with Holli Harmon & Nicole Strasburg, taking place Wednesday, March 24, 2021, 4 – 5 p.m.

Artists Holli Harmon and Nicole Strasburg are the creative force behind the Wildling’s two new art installations. Both Holli Harmon: The Nature of Clouds and Wintering: A Fox Tale by Nicole Strasburg were designed specifically to be viewed from the outside-in during the Wildling’s mandated Covid-19 closure. In their upcoming presentation, the two will discuss their process and the work that went on behind-the-scenes while creating these site-specific installations.

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangHolli Harmon, Nicole Strasburg, Digital Programming
Poetry Competition | Why Earth Day Matters
Poetry Competition | Why Earth Day Matters

This year, the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature is thrilled to be sponsoring an environmental poetry competition with the theme “Why Earth Day Matters,” inviting writers to interpret Earth Day in a variety of ways. The competition is open to Santa Barbara County residents of all ages.

The competition is a celebration of Earth Day, taking place this year on April 22, 2021, and is intended to highlight the importance of standing up to protect the planet’s dwindling natural resources and working against the threats of climate change.

Poetry entries will be judged by poet Sojourner Kincaid Rolle, former Poet Laureate of Santa Barbara (2015-2017), and the top three poems will be announced and read at the annual Santa Barbara Earth Day virtual celebration organized by the Community Environmental Council (CEC).

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangPoetry, Earth Day, Environment, Sojourner Kincaid Rolle
Nocturnes & Envisioning the Night Sky: A Conversation with Nathan Huff & Nathan Vonk
Nocturnes & Envisioning the Night Sky: A Conversation with Nathan Huff & Nathan Vonk

Join us for the Wildling Museum’s February virtual program, Nocturnes & Envisioning the Night Sky: A Conversation with Nathan Huff & Nathan Vonk, taking place Wednesday, February 10, 2021, 4 – 5 p.m.

The expanse of the open night sky has served as a source of wonder for artists for centuries. In this conversation, artist Nathan Huff and Nathan Vonk, owner of Santa Barbara’s Sullivan Goss – An American Gallery, will explore some of the history of nocturne painting and how the night sky continues to serve as a rich source of inspiration for artists working today.

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangNathan Huff, Nathan Vonk, Sullivan Goss Gallery, Nocturnes, Night Sky
Wintering: A Fox Tale | Window Installation by Nicole Strasburg
Wintering: A Fox Tale | Window Installation by Nicole Strasburg

The Wildling Museum is thrilled to announce a window art installation, Wintering: A Fox Tale by artist Nicole Strasburg. The series of papercut fox silhouettes was specially designed by Strasburg to bring joy and wonder to passersby during the museum’s extended closure and bring art to the sidewalk for visitors to enjoy from the outside-in. The public is invited to enjoy the ongoing installation, which is illuminated at night.

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangNicole Strasburg, Papercut
Holli Harmon: The Nature of Clouds
Holli Harmon: The Nature of Clouds

January 2021 - March 2022

Michele Kuelbs Tower Gallery

The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature is kicking off 2021 with an invitation for the public to experience art from the outside-in during its ongoing public closure due to state and local Covid-19 public health mandates for indoor museums.

In the museum’s new Michele Kuelbs Tower Gallery installation, Holli Harmon: The Nature of Clouds, artist Holli Harmon’s immersive work centers around a Norfolk Island Pine tree floating beneath bright blue, cumulus cloud-filled skies. Large chandelier crystals hang suspended by invisible thread from ceiling to floor in a brilliant rain shower as plants are suspended throughout at varying heights.

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Past ExhibitRuben MislangHolli Harmon, Tower Gallery
Virtual Art Class | Serenity Stone Wrapping Workshop with Kathy Badrak
Virtual Art Class | Serenity Stone Wrapping Workshop with Kathy Badrak

Join us on Sunday, January 24, 2021, 1:30 - 3 p.m. and Sunday, February 21, 2021, 1:30 - 3 p.m. for a fun virtual art class led by artist Kathy Badrak. Learn the basics of wrapping stones with waxed linen to make one-of-a-kind serenity stones, each as individual as you are!

Rock wrapping is an art form rooted in Japanese tradition. Wrapped stones could be used in Japanese gardens to guide visitors along a prescribed route or the correct spiritual path. Today, there are many variations of rock wrapping using many different materials. For this workshop, attendees will learn two methods of rock wrapping to create your own serenity stone.

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangArt Class, Workshop, Kathy Badrak, Digital Programming
UPDATE: Private, Appointment-Based Shopping Offered Wednesdays through Sundays at the Wildling through 12/23
UPDATE: Private, Appointment-Based Shopping Offered Wednesdays through Sundays at the Wildling through 12/23

UPDATE (December 6, 2020): Due to new regional stay-at-home orders, and in the interest of public safety and that of our staff, the Wildling has revised its holiday shopping weekend scheduled for December 11 - 13th to change it to private, appointment-based shopping.

Every Wednesday – Sunday, we are happy to accommodate private parties for shopping (or pick-ups of items ordered online) through December 23, 2020. Please call (805) 688-1082 to set up a private shopping appointment or shop our new store online here for all of your holiday needs. New items are being added to our online store every day, so if you haven't visited in a while, please check back! Please don’t hesitate to contact Julie Mock at julie@wildlingmuseum.org with any questions.

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangHolidays, Holiday Marketplace
Beth Pratt: The Wild Wonder of California—and Beyond
Beth Pratt: The Wild Wonder of California—and Beyond

Join us on Wednesday, December 2, 4 - 5 p.m. via Zoom for a fun conversation with conservation leader and author Beth Pratt as she shares tales of wild wonder from California and beyond. Enjoy photos and videos from her extensive encounters with animals including pika, frogs, mountain lions, bears, and more! She’ll talk about how we all need to be a part of fostering a coexistence ethic with wildlife, and what we can do in our own backyard to help wild animals thrive.

Beth will also lead participants through a couple of the exercises from her new book, I Heart Wildlife: A Guided Activity Journal for Connecting with the Wild World. Be sure to come with questions about your wild neighbors!

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangBeth Pratt
James Hines: Urban Wilderness & the Liberty Canyon Wildlife Overpass
James Hines: Urban Wilderness & the Liberty Canyon Wildlife Overpass

Join us on Thursday, November 12, 2020, 4 - 5 p.m. for a virtual Zoom presentation by James Hines, Conservation Director for the Los Padres Chapter of the Sierra Club.

While serving as an activist for a wide range of conservation issues in the region and beyond, Hines’ presentation will largely focus on plans for the Wildlife Overpass at Liberty Canyon, a wildlife crossing planned in Agoura Hills that will provide a safe way for wildlife – including mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, deer, and many other species – to cross the eight-lane 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills.

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangDigital Programming, James Hines, Urban Wilderness, Liberty Canyon Wildlife Overpass
20/20: A Retrospective
20/20: A Retrospective

November 7, 2020 - February 14, 2021

Second Floor Valley Oak Gallery

Wildling Museum of Art and Nature will mark its 20th anniversary with a special exhibition celebrating the Museum’s 20-year history in the Santa Ynez Valley. 20/20: A Retrospective will showcase 20 works spanning two decades of exhibitions representing one work for each year of the Wildling Museum’s history.

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Past ExhibitRuben MislangRetrospective, 20th Anniversary, John Fery, David Paul Bayles, Everett Ruess, John Iwerks
Nature Takes the Wheel: A Public Art Project with Upcycled Hubcaps
Nature Takes the Wheel: A Public Art Project with Upcycled Hubcaps

Nature Takes the Wheel marks the Wildling Museum’s first public art initiative in collaboration with the City of Buellton Arts and Culture Committee. The installation features more than 55 upcycled hubcaps on view now at the Santa Ynez Valley Botanic Garden and on display in the Wildling Museum’s windows through October 31, 2020.

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangBuellton, Stacey Thompson, Public Art
Critters of the Tri-County Region: 2020 Photography Juried Competition
Critters of the Tri-County Region: 2020 Photography Juried Competition

September 1, 2020 - January 10, 2021

Juried Online Exhibition & Competition

The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature is pleased to present its 11th nature photography competition. Our 2020 competition highlights the native critters that call the Tri-County region home.

Winners from both the adult and youth categories will be displayed in an online exhibition through January 10, 2021.

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Past ExhibitRuben MislangPhotography, Photography Competition
Looking Beyond the Pandemic: An Online Collaboration with Allan Hancock College
Looking Beyond the Pandemic: An Online Collaboration with Allan Hancock College

August 25, 2020 - February 7, 2021

Juried Online Exhibition in Collaboration with Allan Hancock College

The Wildling Museum is delighted to collaborate with Allan Hancock College this summer featuring highlights from adult education instructor Michael Messina’s photography class. The students’ photography was first intended to be a Barbara Goodall Education Center exhibition, but with the intrusion of Covid-19, it has now evolved into an online Wildling exhibition.

Over the course of the spring semester, Messina’s class persevered online, adapting to Zoom and learning new skills and methods as they completed their course while navigating the pandemic, culminating in this virtual exhibition documenting various scenes of nature and wildlife captured as close as the students’ own backyards, as far as Africa, and as deep as beneath the ocean’s surface.

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Community Exhibits, Past ExhibitRuben MislangAllan Hancock College, Photography
Holli Harmon: Musings of Califia and Beyond
Holli Harmon: Musings of Califia and Beyond

The Wildling is thrilled to welcome artist Holli Harmon for our next Zoom presentation on Wednesday, August 19, 2020 at 4 p.m. Harmon previously exhibited at the Wildling Museum as part of The River's Journey in 2018 and on July 31st, she opens a new exhibition at Santa Barbara's Sullivan Goss Gallery featuring her most recent body of work, Califia.

We'll talk to Harmon about her artistic process and enjoy an up-close look at her many different techniques, including monoprinting, oil painting, mixed media, and more.

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangHolli Harmon, Digital Programming
Nic Stover: Adventures in California Nature Photography
Nic Stover: Adventures in California Nature Photography

Join us for a spectacular presentation by nature photographer Nic Stover on Tuesday, July 14 at 4 p.m. via Zoom!

Stover, whose work was highlighted in the Wildling Museum’s 2019 Celebrating the National Lands of California exhibition, will lead a discussion about his work capturing California’s Central Coast and beyond, including some of our state’s most iconic parks and landscapes.

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangNic Stover, photography, Digital Programming
James Studarus: Chasing the Northern Lights
James Studarus: Chasing the Northern Lights

Join us for a breathtaking presentation by night sky photographer James Studarus on Wednesday, June 24 at 4 p.m. via Zoom!

Studarus, whose timelapse video footage of the Aurora Borealis is included in our Starry Nights: Visions of the Night Sky exhibition, will lead a discussion about his experiences traveling the northernmost parts of the globe to capture the glow of the Northern Lights across Alaska, Canada, Iceland, Norway, and beyond.

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangJames Studarus, Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis, Night Sky, Digital Programming
Remembering Bud Bottoms: A Legacy of Art and Activism
Remembering Bud Bottoms: A Legacy of Art and Activism

April 4 - December 31, 2020

Tower Gallery & Online Exhibition

Opening concurrently with 20/20: A Retrospective, is the Wildling Museum’s inaugural Tower Gallery exhibition featuring Remembering Bud Bottoms: A Legacy of Art and Activism. The exhibit features sea life sculpture works by the Santa Barbara artist locally-renowned for his iconic Dolphin Family sculpture installed at the base of Stearns Wharf in downtown Santa Barbara.

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Past ExhibitRuben MislangBud Bottoms
CANCELLED: Noontime Concert with Opera Santa Barbara
CANCELLED: Noontime Concert with Opera Santa Barbara

Join the Wildling for a special Noontime Concert in the galleries with Opera Santa Barbara on Wednesday, March 25, 12 - 1 p.m.

This free concert will feature selections from Opera Santa Barbara’s upcoming production of Charles Gounod’s Romeo & Juliet and will include performances by Opera Santa Barbara’s four Chrisman Studio Artists: Julia Metzler, soprano; Kelly Guerra, mezzo; Chandler Johnson, tenor; and John Allen Nelson, baritone.

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangOpera Santa Barbara, Noontime Concert