Open Studios 2025
Once again, I’m honored to be part of the Santa Cruz County Open Studios Art Tour. I’ll be presenting original designs primarily in batik—including framed originals, silk prints, and greeting cards. My studio will be open October 11–12 and 18–19, 2025. I am a North County artist, and my Open Studios number is 295.
Step Into My StudioWhen you arrive, you’ll pass through a welcoming gate into a forested yard. Fairy lights twinkle among the trees, guiding you to a large outdoor tent filled with displays of greeting cards and silk prints, all neatly packaged in acrylic sleeves—professional, inviting, and ready to take home.
Beyond the tent, the door to my ground-level studio gallery is open. Inside, the first room glows with backlit original batiks, each mounted on canvas and protected with clear acrylic held by strong magnets so you can look closely. You’ll see my BIMBY piece (“Birds in My Back Yard”) alongside meditative, free-form cosmic designs created in a flowing wax process.
At the center of the gallery is a table featuring my Photo/Watercolor/Merge series: a process I created two years ago where a photograph is merged with a physical watercolor to form a unique, layered image. A portfolio of my favorite merges is on display, along with silk prints and greeting cards. Custom orders for these keepsake designs are always welcome.
In the adjoining studio room, you’ll find live technique demos, plus displays showing the progression of traditional batik—from wax to dye to finish—as well as examples of the Serti method, where wax outlines hold vibrant color like stained glass.
I also love to share a bit of the history of my Victorian home with a photo book. When we purchased it in 1981, the property was basically treeless. Over the decades, we’ve transformed it into a lush fairyland, now alive with trees, shrubs, birds, and critters—the true home of LadyWhoLovesBirds.
Outside, the barn doors transform into an art wall, covered with large cotton batik prints stretched on canvas—your first glimpse as you arrive.
- Shopping & Specials
- Greeting cards ("create your own box")
- Silk prints (normally $70 on Etsy) available for $20 during Open Studios (with deeper discounts the final weekend)
- Discontinued greeting cards for $1 each—a treasure hunt of holidays and occasions
- Visitors often describe the space as a fantasy land where art, nature, and light meet. Many return year after year, and I usually host a holiday sale the first weekend of December.
- 📍 637 Columbia Street, Santa Cruz, CA
- 🎨 Artist #295 — Alexandra Sanders (LadyWhoLovesBirds)
- 🗓 October 11–12 & 18–19, 2025
- ♿ Access: ramp at the entrance and inside the gallery
ORIGINAL DESIGNS by Alexandra Sanders, AKA the LadyWhoLovesBirds
BATIK~Watercolor~Photography~Digital Design.
I am currently in the process of REMODELING. So let me give you some pertinent links while I make my changes.
MY ETSY SHOP: www.etsy.com/shop/LadyWhoLovesBirds
My shop is the place to view most of my designs as prints: lovely SILK prints are my specialty and you will not find anything like them anywhere else! My mediums include BATIK, Watercolor, Photography and Digital Design. I also specialize in GREETING CARDS for the HOLIDAYS, for
EVERYDAY and I love creating CUSTOM cards. I would love to make something just for you.
My INSTAGRAM PAGE is www.instagram.com/ladywholovesbirds/
I am very active on Instagram and often show my latest designs, videos of work in progress, as well as the work of others that I love. You will also see that I am an animal lover of all creatures and support a wide variety of non--profits dedicated to wildlife, domestic animals and the environment.
My FACEBOOK PAGE is https://www.facebook.com/alexandra.sanders.773
My Facebook page is full of wonderful photos and videos of birds that I either take myself or find online and repost.
Many of my Instagram posts show up there as well.
CONTACT ME: [email protected]
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"The diversity of life on our planet is such a gift but it is fragile. It is under siege by those who do not understand that this precious life cannot be taken for granted. It is NOT capable of withstanding the onslaught of chemicals, clear cutting, plastic pollution, irreverent trophy hunting, GMO’s, acid rain, global warming, and other assaultive practices."
“We do not inherit the land from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children”
(Native American Proverb)
"I want my designs to awaken and connect my viewers to the beauty of the natural world and create a greater awareness of what it would mean to lose it. Our environment has become fragile and transitory. It is my hope that my work will inspire environmental stewardship and make a difference to individuals of all ages.”
Alexandra Karnbach Sanders, BA
Please use the links above to view my designs. Please feel free to contact me about anything.
[email protected]
BATIK~Watercolor~Photography~Digital Design.
I am currently in the process of REMODELING. So let me give you some pertinent links while I make my changes.
MY ETSY SHOP: www.etsy.com/shop/LadyWhoLovesBirds
My shop is the place to view most of my designs as prints: lovely SILK prints are my specialty and you will not find anything like them anywhere else! My mediums include BATIK, Watercolor, Photography and Digital Design. I also specialize in GREETING CARDS for the HOLIDAYS, for
EVERYDAY and I love creating CUSTOM cards. I would love to make something just for you.
My INSTAGRAM PAGE is www.instagram.com/ladywholovesbirds/
I am very active on Instagram and often show my latest designs, videos of work in progress, as well as the work of others that I love. You will also see that I am an animal lover of all creatures and support a wide variety of non--profits dedicated to wildlife, domestic animals and the environment.
My FACEBOOK PAGE is https://www.facebook.com/alexandra.sanders.773
My Facebook page is full of wonderful photos and videos of birds that I either take myself or find online and repost.
Many of my Instagram posts show up there as well.
CONTACT ME: [email protected]
***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
"The diversity of life on our planet is such a gift but it is fragile. It is under siege by those who do not understand that this precious life cannot be taken for granted. It is NOT capable of withstanding the onslaught of chemicals, clear cutting, plastic pollution, irreverent trophy hunting, GMO’s, acid rain, global warming, and other assaultive practices."
“We do not inherit the land from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children”
(Native American Proverb)
"I want my designs to awaken and connect my viewers to the beauty of the natural world and create a greater awareness of what it would mean to lose it. Our environment has become fragile and transitory. It is my hope that my work will inspire environmental stewardship and make a difference to individuals of all ages.”
Alexandra Karnbach Sanders, BA
Please use the links above to view my designs. Please feel free to contact me about anything.
[email protected]