Karen took her first glass class in 2000 and fell in love with the medium. She poured her heart into learning from her favorite artists, and even traveled to Italy to further her education.
When Karen discovered metal smithing and metal clay, she was immediately captivated and immersed herself with the same passion she had pursued with glass. She took as many classes as she could find all over the US, connecting with wonderful teachers who made the artistic journey as much fun as the destination.
Combining her love of glass and jewelry lead Karen to enameling. Enameling is the process of applying thin coats of finely ground glass to metal.
Karen’s work also features Keum-boo (also known as Geumbu, Kum-Boo or Kum-bu). In Korean, Keum-boo means “attached gold”. It is an ancient gilding technique used to apply thin sheets of gold to silver. This technique is used in many cultures, including Chinese, Japanese and in the West to bond gold to many other metals.
Karen is inspired by simplicity and mother nature. Her goals are to create wearable works of art using a variety of techniques and to make her jewelry dance with color.
