karen hunter

karen hunter

PeyoteQueen

oliver

Glass

about

Karen was born in 1959 and received her basic education in the South Okanagan. In 1980 she received a Diploma of Fine Art from Okanagan College in Kelowna, now UBCO. She finished her BFA, with an emphasis on painting at the Univ. of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon in 1983. Upon her return to BC, Karen set out to create and exhibit her large expressive canvases. She spent the next two decades doing just that in BC and Saskatchewan. In the early 2000s, Karen was ready for a more personal and tactile product. The interest in beading was revived from childhood days spent with a very craft oriented grandmother. Her fascination with beads merged her painting subjects of nature, light and colour and a new portable , tactile and personal product appeared as Tubular Peyote jewelry. Karen is still living in the South Okanagan where her time is spent gardening and jewelry making.

artist statement

Karen continues to make one of a kind pieces based on the distillation of nature, light and colour and are unique and one of a kind. All of pictorial and abstract designs begin in a sketchbook and tend to push the wearer’s boundaries. She adheres to correct techniques and good quality supplies, with some unorthodox pairings, to produce jewelry that will last a lifetime. Recently, Karen has become interested in Geometric Beadwork and the many possibilities offered as a structure for the artist. The journey to merge painting and drawing with the media of the seed bead holds and endless fascination for Karen.

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