The Hearts Of The Arts: Karen Michel

Nestled in a cozy space with color splashed with funky but serene patterns and textures marks Karen Michel’s numerous designs. Each piece has an earthy and grounded feel which makes her space not only inviting but incredibly relaxing. Whether it was the dream catchers, the handmade notebooks, or the tastefully made bowls the space wove together effortlessly. Like every artist, there was a story waiting to come out behind her work.

Karen has been creating for as long as she can remember. When she graduated from high school, she ventured off to the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan and then to an art school in New Mexico. With both of these experiences under her belt, she feels as though her art combines the “New York and New Mexico influence.”

Her favorite pieces to make are the dream-catchers. She started making the dream-catchers because she was inspired by “…the notion of Talisman and ceremony, especially because it isn’t modern anymore, no one really pays attention to them.” With these pieces, she is re-envisioning these “…ceremonial objects for the modern times.” She works with dream-catchers, mandala which are “…archetypal symbols that have been among us,” and she works towards “…giving them a modern voice that can relate to us and today’s world.”

She loves “…working with the different fibers.” Traditionally, she is a trained painter and when she is working with the tying of the tassels she feels like “…it is almost like painting, but with fibers.” She considers herself having a “creative OCD,” where she will jump from one project to the next. She enjoys the process of the book making alongside the dream-catchers. However, collage making and painting are also part of who she is, so it is hard to pinpoint one favorite piece at times. She states, “It’s just the whole process of creating something from nothing.”

From traditionally being trained as a painter, her work has sincerely evolved over time. She has “…crossed over to several different mediums, while also trying to bring all those mediums together.” She motioned over to her tapestry pieces as an example, she states “…it’s a combination of a painting, a kind-of dream catcher element with prayer beads that I made.” Overtime all of her different interests have “…melded together into this new form.”

Besides being an artist, Karen is also a mom and has two boys who are “very active.” Their collective passion is being out in nature as much as possible. She always finds herself working, but what is nice about her work is she can easily pack it up in a bag and bring it to the beach with the boys. She also loves music.

If interested in any of her work, you can visit her website at www.karenmichel.com or email her at hello@karenmichel.com.

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Written by: Christina Romeo

She is a 20 year old Long Islander that studies English up in Albany. She has been writing creatively since she knew how to form sentences. She is ultimately dedicated to catering to the writers, poets, and English enthusiasts on her college campus. The club she is dedicated to gives opportunities for students to hone their writing skills and find their voice within the written word. When she isn’t organizing events, she is cooking cruelty free recipes and tending to her plants. She is endlessly passionate about the bridges between political science, literary criticism, environmental studies, women/gender studies, race, and philosophy. She is dedicated to serving her community, both by being a voice and active member within it.
Contact her to write for you at christina.romeo5@gmail.com or visit her website here.