“Exploring infinite ways to create patterned textiles at the loom drives my fascination with weaving. A ‘structure’ weaver, I am drawn to intricate interlacements, but am thrilled when simple combinations of structure, color and texture yield a beautiful, complex-looking woven design.
“For me, the learning is as much fun as the creating, and the desire to share that learning by teaching others the craft through instruction and writing will be the focus of my continued development as a fiber artist.”
Karen weaves limited-edition, one-of-a-kind and custom fiber art, clothing and household textiles for sale and teaches beginning and intermediate weaving classes and assorted workshops at Sutherland Handweaving Gallery & Teaching Studio in Asheville, NC. She began weaving in 1998 and has been teaching since 2004. In October 2008, she earned a Certificate of Excellence in Handweaving-Level I from the Handweavers Guild of America. She currently is pursuing the Level II certification and is enrolled in the Professional Crafts-Fiber program at Haywood Community College.
Taking advantage of her journalism background, Karen now writes for and about weavers and has published several articles in Handwoven magazine.