We were delighted to have Roberta Wagner of Gig Harbor, Washington, and author of Come Walk With Me: Why Art Matters, provide insight to her art practice at our April 17, 2025 Guild meeting.
Roberta is a textile and mixed-media artist whose work is deeply rooted in nature, spirituality, and personal narrative. Over her 40-year artistic journey, she has explored various mediums—including ceramics, painting, textiles, and stitching—with much of her inspiration drawn from landscapes like the Minnesota fields, Dakota plains, Puget Sound tidelands, and the night sky. Her art often evokes a sense of age and memory, combining color and texture to create a sanctuary-like experience for viewers.
In her presentation, Roberta spoke of her love of writing; it was a method of sorting out answers to questions. She followed the writings of Julia Cameron, Natalie Goldberg, Elizabeth Gilbert, and Anne Truitt.
Her book Come Walk with Me: Exploring Why Art Matters, began as a means of answering the question “why?”. She stated, “The first version felt like justification … most was deleted. In it a character I called Sarah, like a muse from beyond, may come back to life someday.”
Her approach for the second version changed, and rather than ask “why have I done this?” she asked, “what have I gained?” In changing the question, she discovered that she had gained more of herself, a connection to something larger than herself, enhanced intuition, more confidence and self esteem and she no longer asks why and states, “just grateful I listened to the calling.”
The book embraces themes of unity and the poetic philosophy that “everything is everything.” Her creative process is exploratory and responsive, often revealing deeper meaning only after the work is complete.
Roberta’s recent work incorporates an abstract expressionist and Asian aesthetic influence (known as Mottainai), and is created with an intuitive, hands-led process. She frequently uses materials such as silk, gauze, and beeswax to evoke natural imagery like birch bark, ancient trees, and cosmic elements. Her art celebrates interconnectedness and the cycles of life, death, and renewal.
She continues to test and explore new ideas in a journal, taking fewer classes and listening more to herself. There is more painting, more colour, less intensive stitch, and a studio log, but she acknowledges that this will change.
Thank you Roberta for sharing your process, art and thoughts with us.
If you wish to know you may find her website here.