Woven Earth
Woven Earth is the gallery of artist, Karen Gubitz, whose sculpture and finely made furniture are made with gathered natural materials. Woven Earth also hosts creative workshops for small groups at its home at Harvest Hill Prairie in western Illinois. For more information on sculpture, workshops or pricing, contact Karen Gubitz.
Karen Gubitz Biography
Karen Gubitz, a life-long resident of the Chicago area, is a self-taught, nature-inspired, fiber artist. Her works are woven primarily with hand-gathered natural materials from her farm, Harvest Hill Prairie, in western Illinois where she is currently restoring a native short-grass prairie and indigenous pine and hardwood forests. Karen is a member of the National Basketry Organization (NBO) and has studied at the School of the Art Institute, Chicago, Illinois.
Over the last 12 years she has studied with various skilled basket makers around the United States, and in order to more fully understand her materials, has studied at Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois under the naturalist program. In addition to her sculpture, Karen shares her love of weaving natural materials with women who gather to learn basket weaving at her Harvest Hill Prairie studio and at Terra Incognito, pottery studios and gallery, located in both Oak Park and LaGrange Park, Illinois.
Artist’s Statement
I started as a basket maker. Through basket making I discovered the expressive possibilities of natural materials and felt compelled to explore the relationships of the man-made and the natural world through the use of these materials. I have a sense about the possibilities of these materials and my work is about exploring what they are trying to tell me.