I’m Karen Koch, an artist in Hudson, Ohio. Inspired by nature and nostalgia for days gone by, I use modern and vintage papers, book pages, and paint with stitching and buttons to create colorful art, rich in texture and meaning.
Background
I studied studio art and majored in drawing at Denison University. After graduating, I worked at art galleries and continued painting for several years. Eventually, I took a corporate job and painted less and less as the job kept me busier and busier. Then, for more than a decade, I did not paint at all.
I started painting again in 2005, first in abstract acrylics. Several years later I began add elements of collage.
My current work incorporates stitching as a way to add line detail. Thread, yarn, and stitching are also a nod to evenings spent embroidering with my mom and my job as a seamstress in college. Found objects, grandmother’s buttons, plastic wrappers, maps, and old book pages all find their way into my work. Maps especially are loaded with associations of childhood road trips and the promise of grand adventures. If something stands still long enough, it WILL get glued onto artwork!
The results are colorful artworks rich in surface texture and personal associations.
My Studio
My studio is at Uncommon ART in Hudson, Ohio. I share it with 2 other artists. We’re open to the public most days. Come by and say hi!
You can see pics of my tiny former home studio here: photos of my studio.
Oh, my mascot keeps a close eye on me, making sure I stay hard at work. See photos of my studio mascot.