Winter Wonder: Four Faces of Grass Mountain | Window Installation by Kiana Beckmen

December 2021 - Ongoing Winter 2022

Multiple views of Winter Wonder: Four Faces of Grass Mountain by Kiana Beckmen, on view now in the Wildling Museum’s Mission Drive windows. Artwork courtesy Kiana Beckmen.

The Wildling is thrilled to share our new window installation by artist and Wildling Visitor Services Associate Kiana Beckmen. This ongoing installation will experience organic changes as Beckmen continues to build upon her upcycled winter window installation incorporating painting and found items and natural materials depicting Figueroa Mountain’s rich flora and fauna.

For this project, Beckmen used a series of found and repurposed materials: recycled fabric, cardboard, paper, school projects, shopping backs, organically broken glass and mirrors, gouache paintings, fishing line, glass beads, foraged flora, and borrowed stones.

Enjoy a dose of inspiration from our windows along Mission Drive all days of the week, including evenings - windows are illuminated after-hours!

Artist Statement

I attended elementary school at the base of Grass Mountain in Los Olivos, where I grew up experiencing Santa Ynez Valley winters filled with heavy morning fog, the occasional frost, much-anticipated rains, and sometimes a dusting of snow on the mountains north of “The Valley.” 

This installation is a celebration of the green, damp season around the Winter Solstice. As you approach the doors of the Wildling, the view of Grass Mountain (‘Owotoponuš in Samala Chumash) gets closer as the scenes in the foreground grow wilder, and further from the agricultural and domestic landscape that covers the valley floor.

See more of artist Kiana Beckmen’s work on Instagram @museokiana.


We’d love to see your photos! The Wildling Museum invites viewers to share photos of their experiences with the installation and tag the museum on social media at @wildlingmuseum or email info@wildlingmusuem.org.