About Me
My name is Kali and I’m the one-woman show behind Sierra Sown, a world I’ve created for those who are wild. I grew up in the mountains of Santa Cruz, California, but spent most of my time in or around the ocean. After majoring in film in college, I became a river guide on the rivers of the Sierra, chasing any form of water for almost ten years: from California and Alaska to the waves and warm water of Hawaii, eventually returning home to California, and ultimately to the Sierras.
A couple of years ago, I was lying in my tent, looking at the shadows of the outside trees and plants dancing on my tent walls in the wind and all I wanted to do was harness it. I played around with different art forms for a while, but then I re-found cyanotype printing, an art form I was obsessed with as a kid. It was everything I loved: capturing bits and pieces of the natural world, the resulting dark blue hues that constantly reminded me of water, and an art process that could be manipulated in several ways on a number of mediums.
I am constantly excited and in awe of this process every time I make something new, it reminds me of that childlike wonder at the natural world, that feeling you get when you step out beyond your comfort zone outside, or that peace you can feel when dipping your hands in to a mountain stream far away from everything. I try to channel bits and pieces of the world of the Sierra, preserved in a way to remember those fleeting moments forever.
About Sierra Sown
Sierra Sown is a mix of cyanotype prints, up-cycled cyanotype apparel, jewelry and more.
I’ve lived and worked on rivers in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada for many summers and have since found myself on a beautiful property in Mariposa, California, just outside of Yosemite National Park. I’ve spent every Spring for the last few years carefully picking and preserving various wildflowers from my property. These (mostly native) flowers mix with topo maps of favorite places and are arranged different ways to create the designs that make each print, clothing, or jewelry piece a one-of-a-kind original.
Sierra Sown is you. It is me. It is every person who has ever found themselves in the Sierra, walking under the redwood trees, on top of the highest mountain peaks or jumping into those cool mountain streams and high alpine lakes. It is for those who are wild, who are curious, who strive to take in their surroundings and for those who find solace amongst the wild worlds.
Thanks for joining me on this adventure—hope you enjoy!
