Sarajo Frieden: Back to the Garden

Back to the Garden, by Sarajo Frieden.
15% of the sale of this print goes to 826 National.

Sarajo Frieden is an artist and illustrator living in Los Angeles with her son. Raised in the wilds of Oakland, CA, she chronicled her family’s adventures both real and imagined, something she drew upon to illustrate Noonie’s Masterpiece, a graphic novel published in 2010 by Chronicle Books. Her work can be seen on lamps, pillowcases, teapots, journals, and the like. She divides her time between illustration and painting, which can sometimes involve collage, shaped paper and embroidery. Her artwork has been exhibited in a variety of cities including Los Angeles, Melbourne, San Francisco, and Rome.



About the print:
This piece, entitled Back to the Garden, is a bit nostalgic in that it refers to a place or time of innocence and beauty that isn't always easily attainable. We hear a lot about the environment under assault (and for good reason), but I think it's also important to connect to the beauty present in nature as a reminder to keep up the good fight in protecting it.

For me, one place that represents this kind of verdant, exuberant beauty is the Osa Peninsula/Corcovado National Park area in southern Costa Rica. It encompasses 13 different ecosystems such as lowland rainforest, cloud forest, coastal marine, and mangrove swamps. The combination of ocean, river, and rainforest is heaven to me. I wasn’t thinking of any one place in particular while working on Back to the Garden, but a combined memory of places (like this one) that I’ve been fortunate to visit.

Back to the Garden was printed on 300gsm Moab Entrada 100% cotton rag paper with archival pigments by POVevolving. Each print was signed and numbered by the artist.

PURCHASE $70!

What informs your work more, nature or the city? How do these two landscapes find their way into your work?
I think it all informs me one way or another.

What have you been up to since we last worked together?
I’ve been painting as much as I can, and of course working on lots of commissions.

How has your work developed over the last year?
My recent work is less representational and more abstract. It’s about pattern, color, geometry, and sometimes botanical/biomorphic references creep in. I’m continuing to develop the language and vocabulary of my paintings, for lack of a better way to put it.



Why did you choose to pair 826 National with your print?
I chose to pair this print with 826 National because thoughtful, creative thinkers and decision makers are one of our biggest assets, and 826 helps to nurture them. This is a way for me to give something back to this fine organization.

What is inspiring you these days?
Central Asian textiles, the quilts of Gee's Bend, Romanian folk costumes, exhibitions such as David Smith, Alexander McQueen, the textile work ofLouise Bourgeois, and a whole host of other things.

Sarajo's previous print for The Working Proof: Blue Water.