Celebrating 25 years: Selections from the CalNAM Permanent Collection

March 22, 2025 - October 6, 2025

Members-Only Artist Reception: To-Be-Announced

Second-Floor Valley Oak Gallery

The California Nature Art Museum is pleased to announce our latest exhibition, showcasing both new acquisitions and long-established pieces from our permanent collection of nearly 150 works of art. Curated by former board chair Peter Adams and his wife Becky, both long-time CalNAM patrons, this show features artwork from exceptional local artists such as John Iwerks, Nell Campbell, and Museum Founder Patti Jacquemain, as well as a new acquisition by historic California artist John Marshall Gamble.

Upcoming ExhibitsRachel MetzSeptember 3, 2024Nansi Bielanski Gallup, David Gallup, Coral Reefs, Ocean

August 25th | Wild Talk: "Pollinators of Santa Barbara County" with SBWCN

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25TH, 2024 | 3:30 PM–5:00 PM

At the California Nature Art Museum (formerly the Wildling Museum), Second Floor Valley Oak Gallery

Join the California Nature Art Museum & Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network for a co-hosted Wild Talk on pollinators of Santa Barbara County on August 25th 2024, from 3:30PM-5:00PM.

Free to attend, and reservations are not required. Ticketed reception with light food and drinks to follow.

August 10th | Free Admission: End-of-Summer Family Day

SATURDAY, AUGUST 10TH, 2024 | 10:00 AM–3:00 PM

At the California Nature Art Museum (formerly the Wildling Museum)

Join the California Nature Art Museum for a free-admission, end-of-summer Family Day on Saturday, August 10th 2024, from 10AM – 3PM. This annual event invites visitors to bring the whole family and enjoy free admission to the Museum, and participate in a variety of art-and-nature inspired activities.

Create your own bee-themed hanging wall art, make friends with a lizard, snake, or tortoise from Mahni’s Reptiles, enjoy a free hand or cheek painting, wonder at live honeybees in an observation hive from Santa Barbara Hives, and shake paws with an adoptable pet from SYV Humane Society!

July 21st | Adult Art Workshop - Bee Baths at the Museum, with Community Clayworks

SUNDAY, JULY 21ST, 2024 | 3:00 PM–5:00 PM

At the California Nature Art Museum (formerly the Wildling Museum)

Join the California Nature Art Museum & Community Clayworks for an art workshop at the Museum, creating bee baths for the home garden. Participants will learn to sculpt an open, flat flower with elevated petals throughout to create safe landing spots for the bees, as well as paint their pieces with colorful underglazes. After firing and clear glazing, completed pieces will be available for pick up in-person at the Museum or can be shipped by request (for an additional fee).

Past Programs/EventsRachel MetzJuly 21, 2024Community Clayworks, Workshop, Art Class, Pollinators

California, Quilted: Wild in the Oak Woodland

July 14, 2024 – March 17, 2025

Second-Floor Valley Oak Gallery

The California Nature Art Museum is pleased to announce its 2024 summer exhibition, California, Quilted: Wild in the Oak Woodland, on view from July 14, 2024 – March 17, 2025, featuring new and recent works by artist Julia Laraway.

From butterflies to bullfrogs to bobcats, Oak Woodland habitats support thousands of animal species all over California. Inhabitants might find shelter in the open grasslands between trees, scattered shrubs, fallen logs, streams, and tree canopies. The wonders of this important habitat – its creatures, colors, and lines of the land – all inspire Julia Laraway’s collection of fabric collages and quilts featuring flora and fauna of the coastal oak woodland.

Current ExhibitsRachel MetzJuly 14, 2024Julia Laraway, California, Textile Arts, Quilting

June 30th | Pollinators Panel: Monarch Butterflies

SUNDAY, JUNE 30TH, 2024 | 3:00 PM–4:30 PM

*** EVENT CANCELLED DUE TO UNFORSEEN CIRCUMSTANCES

Film-making, advocacy, education and outreach, art and photography, habitat restoration, volunteer work, and efforts in citizen-science collide as leaders in monarch conservation Ole Schell, Audrey Fusco, Elizabeth Weber, and Ray Kolbe talk monarch butterflies during this exciting panel on one of California’s most famous pollinators. While each is a monarch expert in their own right, the four speakers all approach their passion for monarch butterflies in different ways.

Join us for an inspirational and educational panel on monarch butterflies in the Second Floor Valley Oak Gallery. Tickets are $5 for members, and $10 for non-members.

June 9th | Kid Craft Art Workshop - Bee Baths at the Museum, with Community Clayworks

SUNDAY, JUNE 9TH, 2024 | 3:00 PM–5:00 PM

At the California Nature Art Museum (formerly the Wildling Museum)

Join the California Nature Art Museum & Community Clayworks for an art workshop at the Museum, creating bee baths for the home garden. Participants will learn to sculpt an open, flat flower with elevated petals throughout to create safe landing spots for the bees, as well as paint their pieces with colorful underglazes. After firing and clear glazing, completed pieces will be available for pick up in-person at the Museum or can be shipped by request (for an additional fee).

June 8th | Kid Craft Art Workshop - Story-Time and Watercolor Garibaldi

SATURDAY, JUNE 8TH, 2024 | 11:00 AM–12:00 PM

At the California Nature Art Museum (formerly the Wildling Museum)

Celebrate World Oceans Day with a free-with-admission Kid Craft mini-workshop. Young guests will get excited about one of our ocean’s most fearsome and fantastic marine creatures during a short group book reading, use watercolors to paint our iconic state fish, and make a pledge to be a friend to the sea.

Past Programs/EventsRachel MetzJune 8, 2024World Oceans Day, Kid Craft

May 19th | Wilderness Spirit Award Brunch

Honoring the Community Environmental Council and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians

SUNDAY, May 19, 2024 | 11 AM - 1:30 PM

Grand Ballroom, Marriott, Buellton

Tickets are on sale now! Join us for our biggest bash of the year - the annual Wilderness Spirit Award Brunch!

Join us for a delicious brunch , mimosa and bloody marys, live and silent auction, artist demonstrations and art auctions, wine pull, & more!

Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangMay 19, 2024Brunch, Fundraiser, Wilderness Spirit Award

April 21st | Native Plant Sale

SUNDAY, APRIL 21ST, 2024 | 10:00 AM–3:00 PM

At the California Nature Art Museum (formerly the Wildling Museum)

Celebrate Native Plant Appreciation Month with native plants, coffee, and used books. Enjoy a large variety of native plants for sale from Yes Yes Nursery and Manzanita Nursery, be inspired by educational materials from Santa Ynez Valley Botanic Garden and Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, cozy-up to a cup of coffee from Coffee a la Cart, peruse a selection of used books benefitting Museum education, and get creative with a free planter-painting activity.

April 12th | Lecture and Book Signing: "California's Changing Landscape: The Way of Water" by George Rose

Lecture & Book Signing: "California's Changing Landscape: The Way of Water" by George Rose

FRIDAY, APRIL 12TH, 2024 / 4:30 PM–6:30 PM

At the California Nature Art Museum (formerly the Wildling Museum)

Over 140 stunning photographs capture George Rose's expansive documentation of California’s complicated and dramatic water story. George began this project during the Covid-19 pandemic, just as the effects of drought were becoming increasingly visible. Then suddenly, California was hit with record-setting rain and snowstorms in early 2023. This onslaught of water effectively filled reservoirs and – at least temporarily – ended the drought.

April 6th | Free Admission: California Poppy Day

SATURDAY, APRIL 6TH, 2024 | 10:00 AM–3:00 PM

At the California Nature Art Museum (formerly the Wildling Museum)

Celebrate California Poppy Day with free admission to the California Nature Art Museum. Create your own flower crown or boutonniere, marvel at Leslie Franklin's collection of poppy vintage items & collectibles, enjoy poppy-inspired treats from Lindsay's Little Bakery. Be one of the first fifty guests to arrive to secure your free collectible sticker!

March 10th | Lecture: “Attracting Pollinators to the California Native Landscape; An Introduction to Pollination Ecology” with Richard Merrill

SUN. MARCH 10TH, 2024 / 3:00 PM– 4:30 PM
At the California Nature Art Museum (formerly the Wildling Museum), Second Floor Valley Oak Gallery

While the topic of pollination in Santa Barbara County is both engrossing and essential, few are familiar with the actual processes of the phenomenon and the major pollinators behind it: bees, of course, but also hummingbirds, butterflies, moths, and beneficial insects.

Join us for an inspirational and educational lecture with Richard Merrill at the California Nature Art Museum (formerly the Wildling Museum) in the First Floor Wildling Gallery.

The Birds and the Bees and More: Pollinators

March 2, 2024 – September 2, 2024

First-Floor Wildling Gallery

We are excited to bring the important topic of pollinators to our California Nature Art Museum gallery featuring original art by Ava Roth, Elizabeth Weber, Susan McDonnell, Cynthia James, Sara Woodburn, and John Gould. Each artist brings a unique perspective to their pollinating subjects.

We are delighted to also be collaborating with the Cheadle Center For Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration at UC Santa Barbara. The Cheadle Center's contribution is focused on native bees, including high-resolution images of rare, local bees from the UCSB Natural History Collection and images of bees visiting flowers of native plants for an up-close look at their beauty and biodiversity.

February 13th | CalNAM Sponsored Trivia Night

Headgames Trivia at Fig Mountain Brewing Co. Buellton | Bonus Round on California National Parks, Sponsored by the California Nature Art Museum

TUES. FEBRUARY 13, 2024 / 6:00 PM–8:00 PM
45 Industrial Way, Buellton, CA 93427 | Second Floor

On February 13th 2024, the Museum will be sponsoring a bonus round of trivia on National Parks in California in celebration of the last week of our juried show, "California National Parks: Stories of Water."

Join us for a night of colorful competition, fun and food as we test your knowledge of some of the most beautiful natural spaces in our golden state. Our sponsored bonus round will include two free gifts from the Museum gift store, and will not affect players' overall trivia score.

January 26th | Lecture & Book Signing: "Paddling Into a Natural Balance: "Stories of Kayaking & Conservation Around Channel Islands National Park" by Chuck Graham

Chuck Graham’s Paddling Into a Natural Balance: Stories of Kayaking & Conservation Around Channel Islands National Park

FRI. JANUARY 26TH, 2024 / 4:30 PM–6:00 PM

Ten chapters and 170 photographs vividly describe conservation efforts observed from Chuck Graham’s kayak. In February 2021, after photographing a bald eagle on the cliffs surrounding Scorpion Anchorage, Graham was inspired to create this pertinent and breathtaking ode to Channel Islands National Park.

Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangJanuary 26, 2024Artist Talk, photography, Chuck Graham

December 3rd | Holiday Marketplace

Mark your calendars and kick off the holiday season at The Wildling Museum’s 12th Annual Holiday Marketplace! We look forward to welcoming you back to this favorite museum tradition on Sunday, December 3rd, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Enjoy one-of-a-kind shopping featuring talented local artisans and unique gifts that celebrate wildlife, nature, and the outdoors.

Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangDecember 3, 2023Holiday Marketplace, Holidays

California's Changing Landscape: The Way of Water | George Rose

November 18, 2023 - July 8, 2024

Second Floor Valley Oak Gallery

The California Nature Art Museum is pleased to host California’s Changing Landscape: The Way of Water, a solo exhibition by renowned photographer George Rose on view November 18, 2023 through July 8, 2024.

Featuring more than 20 large-format documentary inkjet photographs of the Golden State, the exhibition showcases Rose’s recent expansive documentation of California's dramatic water story. His vast exploration of the state and its fraught relationship with water will culminate with the release of his forthcoming book of the same title, now available on our website and in the Museum gift shop.

Past ExhibitRuben MislangNovember 18, 2023George Rose, Photography, Landscape Photography, California, Drought

Mara Abboud: Visions of Beauty

October 21 - November 12, 2023

Reception: Sunday, October 22, 2023, 2 - 4:30 p.m.

Second Floor Valley Oak Gallery

The Wildling Museum is pleased to partner with award-winning artist Mara Abboud in presenting Mara Abboud: Visions of Beauty, an exhibition and fundraiser supporting the Wildling on view from October 21 - November 12, 2023 in the Valley Oak Gallery.

Abboud has received international recognition for her brilliant innovation and unusual painting technique, working with acrylics on canvas and silk. Her painting style is uniquely her own, interweaving a palette of spectacular colors with fantasy designs, achieving a jewel-like tapestry effect reminiscent of tiles and stained glass.

Past ExhibitRuben MislangNovember 12, 2023Mara Abbourd, Fundraiser