On The Verge submission - Karen Bell

I knew I was an artist at the age of three when I announced this fact to my family who were admiring a somewhat lame [to my artist eye] drawing by my cousin who was four. After this bold statement I often pondered what exactly an artist was, although I always knew I had the gift.

I pursued painting, weaving, printmaking and drawing while earning my BFA from Ohio University, and became interested in ancient textiles and primitive art during my art history classes. This visual information offered me a grounding of symbolic images I could transfer into a personal mythology and graphic language which has been the foundation of my art.

My first commissions were from the Episcopal Diocese in Cincinnati, Ohio, to weave decorative sashes and alter covers. Next I became a staff weaver for the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, Arkansas, demonstrating and traveling as a teacher.

I left the Ozark Mountains for Sonoma County, California where I was employed as a fabric painter and learned to work with water based paints on fabric and clothing. I taught myself water based silk screening and operated my business, Great Silkie Artwear for fifteen years, creating designs for catalogs, wineries, children apparel and many music and woman's festivals.

I became interested in surface design and began to work on large pieces of cotton and linen, using resist techniques, painting and silk screening, with the subjects being women and music.

Learning Photoshop and Illustrator enabled me to shape my designs into prints for cards and framed art.

I studied surface design techniques and sewing under the Professional Crafts Program at Haywood Community College after moving to Haywood County in 2003, under Catherine Ellis.

Currently I am exploring surface design using all of my learned skills; drawing, painting, wax resist, silk screening, digital transfer, fabric dyeing, discharge and sewing.