Spudnik Press is pleased to welcome Chicago-based designer and illustrator Karla Santana for a spring residency. During her time at the studio, Santana will develop Loteria, a new mixed-media body of work exploring identity, heritage, and intergenerational memory through print and textile practices.

Santana works across a wide range of mediums, including Risograph printing, screenprinting, sewing, and crochet, often combining multiple processes within a single piece. Her practice draws from formative childhood experiences, integrating character-based imagery and vibrant visual language as a means of examining memory and identity. Beneath their bright palettes and approachable forms, her works carry layered reflections on belonging, family, inheritance, and cultural pride.

Loteria draws inspiration from the iconic Mexican card game of the same name, using its symbolic structure as a framework for personal storytelling. Santana outlines the complex  relationships to culture that can be shaped by periods of embarrassment and shame, as well as deep love, gratitude, and pride. Through this series, she revisits pivotal stages of her life, pairing each with cultural symbols that have followed her family across generations.The project offers a space to reconsider family narratives with appreciation and to arrive at a powerful realization: “wow, de verdad gané la lotería” (“wow, I really won the lottery”).

Throughout her residency, Santana will utilize Spudnik Press’s print facilities to expand the scale and technical complexity of the series. A public event will be announced in conjunction with the residency.

Santana will be in residcenc through April 13, 2026

Karla Santana is a first generation Mexican-American designer and illustrator from Chicago. As a self proclaimed “serial-hobbyist,” Karla enjoys exploring a variety of mediums from Risograph printing, screenprinting, sewing, crochet and more. Karla often combines multiple mediums to create whimsical pieces that integrate nostalgic elements of her childhood with silly characters and cutesy styles.