Margo Consuela Bors

Margo Consuela Bors (born in 1942) is a painter, muralist, photographer, illustrator and enthusiast of nature and native plants mainly focused around the Bay area. She is an activist for protecting native plants and animals is supported by big organizations like the California Native Plant Society.

Bors is an artist who currently is located in Portero Hill, San Francisco, California. Bors is a muralist, painter and photographer. Bors has created murals with Precita Eyes Muralists. Bors used her painting skills to create murals and notable artists that she has collaborated with are Luis and Susan Cervantes and Tony Parrinello. She has focused her artwork on Native plants in California. She uses her knowledge on native plants to share with her community in San Francisco. Her aesthetic is based on native plants and animals, she focuses on embracing the beauty of nature and the environment. Bors has used her knowledge about native plants and flowers to give a presentation at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens. She has studied and showcased her photography. Bors' intense investment in nature and native plants and animals has allowed her to give tours for Bayview Hill as well as other national parks and organizations. Her photography consists of mostly botanical and native plants and animals primarily from the Bay Area. Bors has illustrated linoprints in the portfolio, Gardening Out Loud, by Judith S. Offer. Bors has contributed 700 Native plant photos to Calphotos, which is the UC digital library.

Bors completed her Bachelor's of Art in 1963, at the University of Rochester, New York. In 1992, she attained her foreign studies degree at the University of Mexico, Mexico City. Later she received her docent training in Asian Art and the Asian Art Museum and in the Native Arts of Africa, Oceana and at the de Young Museum, San Francisco, California. (1966-1973) In 1976, Bors started her independent studies in fine arts at San FranciscoCity College. (1976-1976)

Paintings

Red Tulips

Red Tulips, is a centered piece that contains overlapping flowers that look like they are fully grown. The red tulips are in an urn. The urn is decorated with images of fishes whirlpools and water flowers. The median used for this art piece is linocut, the piece is a 30 x 21 print.

Sunflowers and Mayan Cloth

Bors illustrates more of her art to include flowers. In Sunflowers and Mayan Cloth, Bors uses watercolor. The art piece contains a clear vase that holds sunflowers. The vase is place on a cloth, which is the Mayan Cloth. On the Mayan cloth, there is multiple patterns that are being use. More flowers are shown on the cloth, as well as zigzags, triangles, and boxes. They are place vertically on the cloth, the flowers, then the triangles, then the zigzags, and so on and so forth. The cloth is flat, though the vase and flowers do not look flat. This piece represents symbolism and naturalism. The front of the cloth lies flatly in space, while the backside of the cloth is missing because it has fallen with gravity on the table.

Pink Lilies

This art piece is 9 x 8 in. She used the method etching to create Pink Lilies. Bors used etching to create a print impression. The urn in which the lilies are in, is covered with more flowers. The vase is not centered and there is piece of the urn that is shown in the back of the image. The lilies are sprouting from the urn and seem to cover most of the space in the image. The background is blank and the piece focuses on the lilies that are sprouting from the vase.

Murals

Bors has created murals all over the San Francisco area. Murals often consists of different artists and not one person is given credit for the whole piece. Bors has helped paint many murals like the murals for the Cesar Chavez School (1995), The San Francisco State University, The Bryant School, 1989 and The Herrick Hospital in Berkeley, California, 1981. In 1982, she painted a mural that depicted Potrero Hill and its history. This mural was created at the entrance of the Potrero Branch Library. The mural shows hills, trees and houses to show what is around this area.

Photography

Most of Bors' photographs are private and only available for Calphotos. Bors' photographs consist of botanical life and likes to include in her photos images of insects like spiders, butterflies, Damselflies, and bees. Her photos are used by groups like the Sierra Club who is an organization who tries to help persevere the environment. The intentions of her photographs is to embrace the beauty of nature and express the importance of native plants and animals.

Solo Exhibitions

• University of California, Medical Center, San Francisco, California, 1995
• HCR Library of Horticulture, San Francisco, California, 1995
• Garibaldi Gallery, San Francisco, California, 1992
• Gramercy Towers, San Francisco, California, 1984
• 22 August - 31 August, 2016 - Bors exhibited her piece of art, Rare Johnny-Jump-Ups Viola pedunculata and Callippe Silverspot from San Bruno Mountain at Helen Crocker Russel Botanical Gardens Library, San Francisco, California.
• 2 March 1983 - San Francisco, City of St. Francis with Margo Bors Potrero exhibition located at Branch Library, San Francisco, California.
• San Francisco's Helen Crocker Russell Botanical Library

Group Exhibitions

• Stanwood Gallery, San Francisco, California 1995
• Triton Muesuem of Art, Santa Clara, California, 1994
• Luther Burbank Center, Santa Rosa, California, 1994
• Galeria Museo, San Francisco, California, 1993
• Arts Concepts Gallery, Walnut Creek, California, 1992
• Berkeley Art Center Gallery, Berkeley California, 1991
• Gumps Gallery, San Francisco, California, 1991
• U.S- U.K exchange exhibit with Barbecan Centre, London England, 1989
• Banaker Gallery, San Francisco, California, 1987
• Civic Center, San Francisco, California, 1981

Bor's linocut print, California Poppies, is acquired by Library of Congress

The California Native Plant Society has awarded Bors with the Certificate of Excellence in botanical art

Bors has illustrated and collaborated with Judith S. Offer to create the book, Gardening Out Loud. (1996) The book includes various poems written by Offer along with images created by Bors.In this book you will find Bors linoprints that include abstract images of flowers and plants. Bors has had a long term interest in preserving habitat and native plant species in California. Some of the poems in Gardening Out Loud are Purple Iris, Stumped? and ARGIOPE TRIFASIATA. These poems are based on Judith S. Offer's experience in gardening and volunteer work with the National Native Plant Society.