About Karen
A visual artist and inspirational art educator, Karen is known for her fresh, playful approach to mixed media creativity.
With a background in education and graphic design, and BA from the University of Massachusetts, she is a lifelong teacher and mentor.
Karen ignites the creative process in her collage, book making, assemblage, and painting classes and workshops.
Karen’s specialty is collage art that includes mail art, collage sketchbooks, analogue photomontage, painted paper abstracts, found-object assemblage, shard mosaic murals, and hand-bound artist books.
Karen works out of Maison Collage Studio in her home in Canaan, NY, where she makes art as a daily practice, teaches collage, and heads up a lively FeMail correspondence. Her artwork can be viewed in local galleries, in private and international collections, as well as at Maison Collage Studio Gallery by appointment.
Karen is the founder of the international Vibrant Visionary Collage Community, which is based upon her VVC teaching method and immersion programs at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health.
In addition, she is the founder of FeMail Art Network and engages in a worldwide correspondence with other active mail artists. She is a long standing member of the International Union of Mail-Artists.
Karen is an artist-activist, whose international outreach has been implemented through exciting art programs in Jamaica, BWI, and in Rishikesh, India. These programs engage children from at-risk populations at orphanages, children’s residential homes and small, rural schools in art making and community empowerment. As an international travel guide to India, with a unique, annual trip called ”The Pulse of Rishikesh Tour,” she volunteers as a children’s art teacher, and teaches the skills of travel artist to her tour members (2017–2019). Karen also taught plein air painting in the beautiful Italian countryside of Umbria, as cultural curator, guide, and mentor for a private artist residency (2018).
An innovative educator for 35 years, Karen advocates for educational equity and social justice, and teaches art to amplify the creative voices of all people.
Karen’s expansive art horizons include traveling art exhibitions such as ABAD Australia, based in New South Wales, and the International Sketch Book Project based in Brooklyn, NY. Karen thrives on the creative nourishment of artist residencies at Penland School of Crafts (Penland,NC), The Millay Colony (Austerlitz, NY), Linwood Gardens (Linwood, NY), Coptic Book Making Intensive (Holliston, MA), and at Pietro Berrettini House (Cortona, Italy).
As faculty at IS183 Art School of the Berkshires and at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Karen’s mission is to guide people of all ages into the heart of their creativity with daily practice. Her passion is to illuminate the transformational power of living a creative life.
