Karen’s primary interest is in texture and color. She began brush painting on washi (Japanese paper), but felt somehow constrained by its traditional visual vocabulary.

 “I have always been drawn to the force of ink on paper, but wanted to work in a way that would allow more for the full textural properties of ink and paper to reveal themselves. In printing monotypes, which is an incredibly fluid process, I can build on the spontaneity of the process by predicting and amplifying what different textures and colors will do. Japan’s rich visual environment and traditions give me a lot to draw upon, often in surprising and indirect ways.”

Karen was born and raised in southern California, and graduated from the University of California, Davis with a degree in studio art. She has lived in Japan since the early 1990s. She now works and lives in Kamakura, Japan’s ancient capital.