Julie Wagner grew up roaming the woods of the northeast, collecting bugs, leaves and flowers. “I have always loved drawing what I see on my walks and translating them to my art works. I still often return home with wasp’s or bird’s nests, seed pods, abandoned shells of cicadas or other bugs.

Then, in my studio, I make paper sculpture and artist’s books using my drawings, images of natural forms, scientific diagrams, and maps. I do oil transfer drawings on handmade Japanese paper, tear the pages into small pieces, which I then glue up to make vessel forms and book pages. I am exploring metamorphosis, patterns of growth and decay, and ‘maps’ of the natural world.”

Julie gets her inspiration from the prairie as well as the desert. She was born in Wisconsin and grew up on the east coast. After earning a BA in Studio Art from Oberlin College and a MFA in Sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design, she worked in New York City for 5 years.

Julie moved to northern New Mexico in 1972. Her work is in private and public collections in the United States and Europe.