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Hi, I am Karen Adams.

I have to create.

I am unashamed to say that I love painting, drawing and sculpting the figure. The fact that human beings have been reproducing images of other human beings for thousands of years blows my dress up….but even more, the process of making the figure in art blows my mind creatively. It’s obvious to me that there is a need for humans to depict themselves in art that seems…well, eternal.

For me it’s all about identity: who are you, what is it to be a human being? You are a unique spirit housed in a human body.

I have to create. If the images I make resonate with you and connect you to yourself, that’s great. If you empathize with that image of a human being, whether it’s sculpture, painting or drawing, I’m pleased. Look here, and see if you don’t find something of yourself.

Early Inspirations

  • Receiving a large chalkboard with colored chalks from Santa at age 4
  • Taking art classes at The Children’s Museum, in Nashville, TN (Inspired and repulsed by the exhibit of shrunken heads on display in the museum)
  • Having been introduced to Picasso’s works and collage-making by an art instructor when I was 11
  • Discovering that my ability to accurately draw what I saw was not the pinnacle of achievement, but rather a ‘jumping off place’ to something much more stimulating
  • Falling in love with drawing and painting the figure – a passion that has never waned

Education

1985 M.F.A., University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
1982 B.F.A., University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
1982 University of Georgia Studies Abroad Program, Cortona, Italy
1980-81 National Student Exchange Program, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana