2026 Artist Spotlight: Carleen Ormbrek Zimmerman
We are so excited to have Carleen Ormbrek Zimmerman at Bird Fest 2026 as our Spotlight Artist! She describes herself as a "birder with a sketchbook."
During Bird Fest, look for Carleen at events and workshops. Check the Bird Fest Schedule (coming in mid-March) for more details.
Biography: Carleen was born and raised in Seattle. She started school as an art major, but academics took her down a different path. She eventually moved to the Midwest to work as a Norwegian language college instructor. It was there that Carleen met her husband, an avid birder. (Yes, it is true that one of their early dates was to a sewage treatment pond in Fargo. ND for spring migration!)
She recalls creating her first field sketch in 2003: "After hours of birding with a group of much more talented birders, I became discouraged after always asking, “What was that bird you said I saw?” So, I took a timeout and sat down to do something familiar. I reached into my pocket and grabbed an ink pen and did a quick modified blind contour sketch of a thistle. Twenty years later I can still recall the sensory moments I experienced while sketching. I remember the overcast skies along the creek and the budding willows filled with Yellow Warblers migrating through. Such was my introduction to field sketching and nature journaling."
Carleen began creating travel sketchbooks to help learn about birds and their habitats and found the value of art in honing observation. Her workshops focus on how to use art and language as useful learning tools to observe our world.
Check out the Spotlight Artist's Gallery in the River Haus at Wenatchee River Institute to see her work in person during Bird Fest. Specific dates and times TBD.
