BIRGITTA BOWER
Bower’s second solo exhibition with M Stark Gallery, Wild and Wooly II, will take place November 7—December 20.
First Friday, November 6 from 4-8PM: Sneak preview
Sunday, November 8 from 1-4PM: Public opening reception
First Friday, December 4 at 5PM: Bower in conversation with Stanford arts educator Peter Tokofsky PhD. This event is free and open to the public.
Birgitta Bower is known for intricately detailed, sculptural felted landscapes that capture the vibrant personality and raw beauty of the Coastside. Wool allows for a soaring range of color and luster more vivid than conventional painting or photography, and she maximizes this quality. Trial and error is an important element of her process; she is continually perfecting her technique.
Bower is a self-taught needle-felting artist. Trained as a doctor in Sweden, she found her license and degree credits were not transferable when she moved to the US, so focused her attention on raising her two children. She was first introduced to felting when she received a maker kit from a friend in 2008. She became fascinated by felting, becoming an expert in every step of the process, learning to clean, prepare, and dye the wool which she sources directly from Bay Area sheep farms. Bower takes her medium one step further by combining sheep wool with other fibers such as alpaca, and adds further texture with yarns and threads. Bower has been an active exhibiting member of the Coastal Arts League since 2018. She lives and works in El Granada.
Needle-Felted Landscapes by Birgitta Bower Are Coastside Gold, by Stanford arts educator Peter Tokofsky PhD.
2024.9 Wild and Wooly, PUNCH Magazine (Birgitta Bower)
2024.6 A fluid approach to wool, Coastside Magazine (Birgitta Bower)
Pescadero Creek, 2021, wool, yarn, and embroidery thread on wool backing, 53 x 25 inches, $6,500
Montara Foothills, 2024, wool, yarn, and embroidery thread on linen with fabric paint, 18 x 55 inches, $4,000
Tide Pool, 2026, wool, yarn, embroidery thread, and beads on linen, 42 x 26 inches, $6,000
Flower Power at Ross Cove, 2019, wool, yarn, silk, and embroidery thread on wool backing, 30 x 37 inches, $4,000
Cathedral Trees, 2023, wool, yarn, and embroidery thread on linen, 30 x 28 inches, $2,000
Morning Fog and Dew, 2018, wool, yarn, embroidery thread, beads, and bead string on wool backing, 25 x 28 inches, $1,500
Bluff and Bay, 2021, wool, yarn, silk, and embroidery thread on wool backing, 29 x 37.5 inches, $3,500
Trail with Ocean View, 2022, wool, yarn, silk, and embroidery thread on linen, 25 x 31 inches, $1,500
Wavecrest, 2024, wool, yarn, and embroidery thread on linen with fabric paint, 22 x 23 inches, $1,200
Pescadero Coast, 2025, wool, yarn, embroidery thread, on linen with fabric paint, 19 x 54 inches, $4,500
Evening Glow, 2022, yarn, silk, embroidery thread, and beads on linen, 19 x 15 inches, $900
Bob's Pumpkin Patch, 2021, wool, yarn, embroidery thread, on wool backing, 29 x 31 inches, $1,800