About Alexa Karabin

Event: Gilded Nature A Solo Exhibition by Alexa Karabin

Dates: 1 Oct 2023 - 31 Oct 2023

When I was a child I approached nature with wonder and amazement. The symmetry, color, and fractals found in the natural world captivated my mind constantly. My earliest memories are playing in my grandmother’s garden, never wondering what compelled her to convert every inch of her back yard into growing plants, buzzing with pollinators. This experience opened up my mind to the beauty of nature.
These pieces are meant to honor nature and express our connection and place in it. They are created using a variety of methods using handmade paints and handmade paper made out of pigment from various material like my grandmother’s crushed antique jewelry, pigments from the earth, broken glass, and other material I have collected over the years. The sparkle represents the child’s perspective, while the broken jewelry and glass represent nature’s fragility.

Event: Photosynthesis II Exhibition

Dates: 1 Sep 2023 - 30 Nov 2023

"The artwork of these seventeen participants was created to be compelling reminders that we are all elementally tied to the world around us and that it is our responsibility for its continued existence," said Linda Rzoska, curator. "In this exhibition, we hope to shine a spotlight on a worldview that awakens mindfulness and communicates to its viewers their right to experience the presence of their twenty-billion-year-old universe of which our planet is a tiny, tiny speck of dust."

Participants in the exhibition: Lorrie Grainger Abdo, Melody Allen, Susan Badger, Justin Bernhardt, Maryellen Hains, Anna Z ILL, Alexa Karabin, Elizabeth Kerlikowske, Helen Kleczynski, Honore Lee, Dave Middleton, Lynn Pattison, Linda Rzoska, Nichole Riley, Joe Smigiel, Vicki Van Ameyden, and Randy Walker.

The artists exhibiting work in Photosynthesis II are based in Southwest Michigan and many are WMU alumni, including curator Linda Rzoska who in 1976 received her degree in painting from WMU.