California Nature Art Museum Celebrates 25 Year Anniversary with Founder’s Exhibition Opening: Wild in California

Special show shines spotlight on California as a biodiversity hotspot using the powerful  art of Patti Jacquemain to illustrate the state’s wide range of species and ecosystems

 The California Nature Art Museum (formerly the Wildling Museum) is thrilled to announce  a very special celebration in honor of its 25th Anniversary, taking place on Friday, September 19, from 5:00 to 6:30  p.m. This milestone event also marks the opening of a powerful new exhibition, Wild in California, featuring the work of Santa Barbara artist and museum founder Patti Jacquemain.The exhibition shines a spotlight on Jacquemain’s mosaics and block prints, which beautifully depict the extraordinary diversity of California’s native wildlife—from mountain lions and condors to foxes and frogs. Known for its unique range of species and ecosystems, California is considered a global biodiversity hotspot, and this exhibition invites viewers to pause and reflect on the natural treasures that surround us. Wild in California will be on view from September 20, 2025 through February 22, 2026. 

Since it first opened its doors in 2000, The Wildling Museum has served the local community and tourists from all over the world, sharing the natural beauty  found throughout California and beyond by a vast array of artists and their creative visions. Originally founded by local artist Patti Jacquemain, the Museum has grown and changed over the years, moving from Los Olivos to Solvang in  Yet one thing remains consistent, its mission. California Nature Art Museum (www.calnatureartmuseum.org) helps the general public understand complex issues of conservation and environmental science through art, by focusing on the amazing beauty and diversity  of The Golden State. Using art to connect people to nature is an impactful way to touch hearts and minds. Never has nature  been more challenged than it is right now, so expanding the Museum’s reach is paramount towards building a sustainable  future for us all.

Since its founding in 2000 by conservationist and artist Patti  Jacquemain, the Museum has grown into a vibrant cultural  hub that uses the power of art to deepen our connection with  nature. Here are a few highlights from the past 25 years: 

• Welcomed over 200,000 visitors through its doors 
• Presented dozens of exhibitions featuring local and  national artists who explore the intersection of art  and the environment 
• Offered free school tours to inspire the next  generation of environmental stewards 
• Purchased our own building in 2017, strengthening  our roots in the Santa Ynez Valley 
• Installed a Thomas Dambo troll sculpture, which has  tripled visitation and delighted families and art  lovers alike 
• Remained a family-friendly, welcoming space where  creativity and conservation meet

This show includes both woodcut prints and mosaics of all  sizes, showcasing the many bioregions and species that  contribute to California’s rich biodiversity. When an  ecosystem includes many plants and animals, as well as  many different species, that space is described as having  “high biodiversity.” Worldwide, there are just 36 regions  officially designated as terrestrial “biodiversity hotspots”. The California Floristic Province was named a biodiversity  hotspot in the 1990s and includes Santa Barbara County. The California Floristic Province stretches along North  America’s Pacific Coast and parts of Mexico and supports  a number of critically endangered species such as the  California condor and red-legged frog. To be named a  biodiversity hotspot, an area must contain many species  and plant life that cannot be found anywhere else in the  world. While the Golden State is famed for its high  biodiversity, many ecosystems and species are under  threat of habitat destruction due to demand for  development and agriculture in California. The Museum’s  mission is to inspire stewardship of nature through art and  education, and Jacquemain’s art provides a way to  educate and connect visitors to California’s wild side. 

Patti Jacquemain is a prolific artist and passionate conservationist whose creative practice spans over five decades.  Trained in printmaking at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Patti developed a distinctive visual language rooted  in bold composition and deep reverence for the natural world. Her linoleum block prints and hand-cut mosaics often feature  wild animals and native plants, blending fine art with environmental storytelling. In addition to founding the museum in  2000, she also established Mission Creek Studios in Santa Barbara, where she created much of her work and mentored  fellow artists as well as the nonprofit Creekspirit Foundation. 

Guests are invited to celebrate the museum’s history and mission to inspire stewardship of nature through art and education. The evening will include catered appetizers, the wines of Dierberg and Star Lane wineries, remarks honoring Patti Jacquemain’s legacy, proclamations on the 25th Anniversary by various dignitaries, and an exclusive first look at Wild in California. Tickets are $25 per person, and can be purchased by visiting:calnatureartmuseum.org/news/25th-anniversary-members-celebration 

Advance registration is recommended as space is limited. Tickets include one free entry into a drawing for a museum gift basket. “The museum’s 25th anniversary is the perfect moment to revisit the work and vision of Patti Jacquemain,” said Executive Director Stacey Otte-Demangate.  

“Her deep love of California’s wild creatures is evident in every piece, and this exhibition is both a tribute to her and a  reminder of the beauty and fragility of our natural world here in the Golden State.” 

For more information about California Nature Art Museum please visit www.calnatureartmuseum.org. Please contact Joni  Kelly, Communications Specialist at 805-886-1869 or jonikellycomm@gmail.com to schedule interviews with Executive  Director, Stacey Otte-Demangate or Founder/Artist, Patti Jacquemain, request broadcast-quality B-roll and high-res images, or to RSVP for this event. Limited tickets are available for working media.

About the Artist  

Patti Jacquemain was raised on a ranch in Santa Barbara, California, where she developed a great love of the outdoors which clearly inspires her works, no matter the medium she uses in her art pieces. “Growing up on an 18-acre lemon ranch in Santa Barbara, I was continually outside in  the creek or on horseback riding in the backcountry during which I gained a great love for nature,” Ms. Jacquemain stated. “When I went to college, there was never any question that I would study art. While I experimented with many different art techniques,I discovered my enthusiasm truly was for woodblock printmaking and mosaics, and that has continued to this day. I like to focus on a particular subject and work on a series of related original prints, always nature related.” 

Patti Jacquemain is the founder and inspiration behind the California Nature Art Museum (formerly the Wildling Museum)  located in Solvang, California. She and her husband Dave started the Museum with twelve close friends and colleagues in  1997. She and her husband also founded the Creekspirit Wildlife Foundation in 2003 to promote private support for the  preservation of wildlife in California and the West. 

Jacquemain has received several commissions to design and develop mosaic murals that are currently installed throughout  Santa Barbara County and beyond. Jacquemain was also featured in the documentary The Artist and the Great Bear, which  was screened at the 2018 Santa Barbara International Film Festival. 

Learn more about Patti Jacquemain and her work at www.missioncreek.com. 

About the California Nature Art Museum  

MISSION & VISION: to inspire stewardship of nature through art and education. Our vision is  to be recognized as an exceptional and inclusive leader in inspiring our diverse communities  and visitors to value nature through the vision of artists. The museum collaborates with partners for the benefit of our region  

Founded in 2000 as the Wildling Museum by conservation advocate and artist Patti Jacquemain, the California Nature Art  Museum continues to inspire environmental stewardship through exhibitions and programs that connect people to the  natural world through art. 

California Nature Art Museum uses art to educate and inspire people to better understand and care for our dwindling  natural and wilderness areas. California Nature Art Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a small staff of 2  full-time and 4 part-time employees, augmented by 35 dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers. The mission of California  Nature Art Museum is to inspire our community and visitors to enjoy, value, and conserve wildlife and natural areas through  art, and provide artistic, educational, and field experiences of nature for that purpose. Our vision is to be recognized as an  exceptional and innovative leader in inspiring our communities and visitors to value wilderness and other natural areas  through the lenses of a diversity of artists. The California Nature Art Museum strives to collaborate with others for the  betterment of our communities. 

California Nature Art Museum is open Weekdays from 11 am to 4 pm (except Tuesday and Wednesday) and on Weekends  from 10 am to 5 pm and is supported by the generosity of its sponsors and members.