About
Book artist. Printmaker. Writer.
Kara Petraglia is a book artist, printmaker and writer in the Greater Philadelphia area. Kara’s formal education includes: an MFA in Book Arts and Printmaking from the University of the Arts, and a BFA in Painting from the University of Florida. Informal education includes tinkering, researching, and playing with new tools and machines including a Brother sewing machine (nicknamed Little Beastie) and an Epson 7880 large format printer (nickname to come). Kara also produces work under the imprint Salt Paper Press & Bindery. Most of her work explores how salt can be used as a metaphor for life experience in its physical and metaphysical properties.
Kara has been on the board of the Philadelphia Center for the Book since 2014, and is currently the board president. Kara was awarded the 2013 Graduate Alumni Award in Honor of Lois M. Johnson for her experimental use of salt in printmaking and sculpture. And, was awarded the Artists and Writer’s Grant from the Vermont Studio Center for a residency in 2015.
Kara’s work is in numerous personal collections, as well as the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, The Musee De La Poste, Paris, France, The Fluxmuseum, St. Louis, MO, Borowsky Center for Publication Art, the Free Library of Philadelphia, and University of South Dakota’s University Libraries collections among others. She has exhibited work nationally and internationally.