Biography

Karin Skiba (Russo) attended the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, moving to Canada at age 21. There, she began large scale batik sculpture, which she showed in museums and galleries. Coming to California in 1977, she returned to school. At Claremont Graduate University in 1980, Karin began to cut her images from wood and built her paintings, becoming one of several artists known for painted sculpture.

Karin accomplished her MFA in 1982 and began to show her work at Barnsdall Park Art Center, LACMA, Security Pacific and other galleries in LA, Oregon, Chicago, and Detroit. Building a strong exhibition record, she began teaching at Riverside Community College District in 1990 and was the full time art instructor at Norco College from 1991 until 2011. While working at the Riverside Community College District, she was CTA Faculty Union President, and also participated in the RCCD Study Abroad program, teaching three semesters in Florence, Italy. For several years after formal retirement as Faculty Emerita, she established and ran the Norco College Art Gallery.

With a resume that includes solo exhibitions in venues such as La Verne University and Cal Poly Pomona as well as the Riverside Art Museum, Karin has created art for over 44 years as an example of artistic persistence and passion. She now has a studio in Joshua Tree, CA, and devotes the majority of her time to making art.