People who inspire for all kinds of reasons, small or big.
There are folks in my life who have inspired me to be better. They’re my mentors. My teachers. My heroes. They’ve shared their knowledge with me, patiently and gracefully. Some are older. Some are younger. Age doesn’t seem to matter. All are wise and doing what they love. Once in a while, I’ll be chatting with them about what makes them tick and sharing their stories with you. I hope you’ll feel energized by their insights. And, one day, perhaps you’ll be my next featured wanderer, wonderer, and creator.
February Artist Feature: Karen Stanton
Today, I’d like you to meet Karen Stanton. She is a teaching artist in the San Francisco Bay area, and my sister-in-law! She has been an inspiration to me as an artist and creator of many beautiful things. She paints, writes and illustrates children's books, sews stuffed dolls that she’s named “Alma Dolls” and makes incredible ceramic sculptures. We spent some time together (virtually) chatting about her creative process. Check out what she has to say!
(Diane:) Hi Karen. One of the most important things I was taught as an artist is how to use color to create darks, lights and spatial depth. Will you share some insights on how you like to use color in your own art?
(Karen:) The only color theory classes I took were in architecture school, so I’m no color expert. But I LOVE color and I always say that I have no favorite. Any color in the “right” percentage with the “right” other colors is my FAVORITE color at that moment. When I took a post-grad design class in Spain a few years ago for fun, one teacher challenged me to use less of the complementary colors and stick to a smaller palette. That is a good exercise and when I try it I am usually happier with my results. But I naturally gravitate to compliments. Certain greens seem to make certain reds more alive. The same with purple and yellow, and orange with blue. One color rule I do try to adhere to for creating harmony is to mix a tiny bit of each color from the piece into all the others. So no color is completely foreign. This method makes sure that the colors are truly a family.
(Diane:) I also was taught to work with a limited paint palette. I use oil-based red, blue and yellow (a cool and warm version of each), mix these together to create secondary and tertiary colors and add white to make them lighter. What is your paint medium of choice. And why?
(Karen:) Lately I am using India ink on both paper and fabric instead of paint. I start with an idea or a feeling. Since I am not painting from photos or life, I use whatever color calls my name the loudest. Then I go from there. I don’t mix up a palette with all the colors even though I know how to do that. (l learned about color mixing and the color wheel mostly from teaching it to 5th graders.) I always use white and black too.
Sometimes when a piece needs something, I use collage. It’s easy to cut out bits of red or a patterned paper and see what helps the image without committing to anything. I can add it with gel medium if it works. Or not. Also collage helps me hide my mistakes. If I hate something, or there is too much of a color, collage can rescue a piece (sometimes).
(Diane:) When I feel creatively stuck I wander around outside and connect with nature; it re-energizes me, helps me problem-solve and gives me new ideas for paintings. Where do you wander to for inspiration?
(Karen:) During the pandemic, I started taking a few online classes for fun and inspiration (and growth.) One that I LOVED was “The Seeded Notebook” class taught by cool children’s book author/illustrator Henrik Drescher. He presented his methodology, new tools and new ideas that were super duper fun and inspiring. (It was a very affordable class too!). I LOVED IT!
Since I also write and illustrate books for children (hence my love for Henrik) I get stuck/bored/frustrated with writing too. For that, I usually try “free-writing” exercises. (This works for art too.) I allow myself to simply play. I “dump” words (or images) onto paper without trying to get someplace specific and without editing myself. I usually pick a topic, it’s not a totally random dump. For instance, If I’m stuck on a painting, I will make a lot of collage paper. Or do a giant page of doodles in two colors. With writing, I will sometimes start making lists: TEN things my main character could try to solve her problem. TEN ways my main character can get from point A to point B.
Eventually, something will jump out at me and I’m back on track.
Another good tool is showing my work to trusted people. I have a writers’ group and other artists that I connect with. Their feedback can often help me get unstuck. Since I work on more than one project at once, I sometimes switch to another project (but only when I know I am TRULY out of ideas.) Quitting too early is NOT a good idea for me. So how do I know if I’m quitting too early? I don’t know for sure. But if I’m swearing out loud, throwing stuff or crying, it’s time to stop! When that happens, walking is my cure. Long walks with my dog and no other people. No phone. No music. Just the world.
(Diane:) Me too. Long walks with my dog outside listening to Mother Nature. :) How do you choose the subject matter for your art/paintings? And what kind of reference material do you use?
(Karen:) I like to work in series (but I would never write in a series! Go figure). I love owls, so I might make a series of owls. I went through a Dog Phase when I got Javier in 2015. I went through a Strong Female phase when I painted Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Maya Angelou. I did an Alliterative Alphabet series: Antelope in an Ascot, Buffalo in a Bufanda, Chihuahua in Chelsea… I’m easily bored so I like to try lots of things.
I do use photos for reference to see what the main important elements are to make an image of a YAK for example. I free draw from the images until I get something I like. The animal has to be believable and recognizable, but not realistic. I am not interested in realism. I’m more interested in a feeling or a character.
(Diane:) Sometimes I wonder about my paintings or the stories I write. I ask myself if I’m being true to myself. Does the image I’ve painted reflect what’s in my mind? Do the words I’ve written sound like me? How do you maintain authenticity as an artist?
(Karen:) Practice and failure. I have done A LOT of that. I’m 62 years old. Failures, mistakes, and disappointments give me valuable information about what isn’t working. A lot of pieces do not get to where I want them to go. At this point, I don’t know how to do work that is NOT ME. Sometimes I don’t like what is ME! I’d like to write or paint like someone whose work I like better than my own. And there are LOTS of people in that category. But what comes out is always me, whether I like the stuff or not…it is undeniably me. It is recognizably me. When I was younger, I was still searching for myself, my voice, my “style.” But eventually, it happened and I can’t get rid of it now.
I recently heard a quote from the podcasting guru Ira Glass. “It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap (*between your taste and your output), and your work will be as good as your ambitions.”
And the closer you will get to work which is truly authentic. I think Ira Glass is right. Although I do know adult artists who struggle with the authenticity issue, and (if they asked me for advice) I would say “Just Surrender to Yourself. ACCEPT Yourself as YOU ARE, then just GO FOR IT. The more YOU, the better.”
Me? I am a messy person. I like starting, not finishing. I hate minute details. I love accidents. I am impulsive and dive in too quickly sometimes.
Once I accepted my natural tendencies and ceased trying to change myself to meet some bullshit ideal, my authentic self simply arrived. She is imperfect, messy, impulsive, big-picture-oriented. Not everybody likes her! But some folks do and that has to be enough.
When I give myself permission to be how I am naturally (and still meet my deadlines and finish work even though I don’t like finishing,) I arrive at a happier place. When I make work from a happy, un-self-critical place, it is most authentically me and usually better work too. Also, I try not to worry about whether anybody likes it or whether it will sell, or get a good review. I aim only to please myself and have fun. (Easy say, hard do.)
(Diane:) Having said that your creative work is a reflection of YOU, how would you describe your painting style? Realistic? Graphic? Whimsical? Something different?
(Karen:) That is a question I don’t have an answer for….hmmm. I’m not a painter exactly, because I work in so many media. And I’m definitely not a FINE ARTIST. In fact, I never understand those long-winded “Artist Statements” of complex theories and layers of meaning. Sounds like psycho—babble to me. I’m not a true illustrator either. I guess I would say I’m a FUN ARTIST. And even though it may seem that my work is childlike or child centric, I do take it very seriously. I might say my work is “shamelessly decorative,” “sometimes narrative” and a little bit “FONT-Y” since I love letters and often use words and letters as patterns.
(Diane:) Finally, you’ve inspired me as an artist because of how prolific you are. You paint, write, make ceramics and sew, too! Who are some of the wanderers, wonderers and creators in your life? How have they helped you grow as an artist and individual?
(Karen:) A few artists I love: Antoni Gaudi (architecture and mosaic tile), David Hockney (pattern and color), Alice Neil (Amazing figures and portraits), Miroco Machiko (animals I love), and Yayoi Kusama (color and energy)
The true reason for all the variety of work is my students. Every Tuesday after school, my home studio is full of young artists. Kids get bored, so I have to think up new tricks. And some of those tricks creep into my own work. My “ALMA DOLLS” are an example. (ALMA means SOUL in Spanish!)
I searched Pinterest and Google for ideas and I saw “Ugly Dolls.” I had not done much sewing up until that point, but I did have a machine and some basic skills. I made a sample doll and it became my first ALMA DOLL. Kids and I have made hundreds of sewn art pieces during the past three years and it has been a huge new fun area of creativity for me and for them. Right now I am doing a series of Inspiring Artist ALMA Dolls. I have made: Yayoi Kusama, Salvador Dali, Jean-Paul Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Nikki de Saint-Palle, and Iris Apfel! So much fun!
Teaching anything is a great way to learn and be inspired. I started teaching art in public schools in about 2004 (thinking I would hold the place until they hired a REAL TEACHER). I stayed for over 10 years and have taught in some form or other ever since. I taught “Children’s Book Writing and Illustration” at City College SF and “Art In English” for the American Embassy in Valencia Spain. Teaching forces me to understand concepts at a deeper level in order to explain them to another person (especially a child or a non-English speaker!) I learn more from teaching than anybody else in the class I think. Plus I tell the kids I’m really there just to steal all of their good ideas. And it’s true.
My greatest mentor was my grad school Architecture professor Christopher Alexander. (He is the author of many books on the subject of Building Beauty and a super inspiring genius who died last year in his mid-eighties.) Chris always said we could never hope to make a building or a public park with truly beautiful spaces that nurture the human heart if we can’t make something small first. In school, we did experiments making tiles, trivets, paintings, chairs, tables, etc… all in an effort to learn what made an object beautiful. I think about Chris and what I learned from him, every single time I make anything.
(Diane:) Thank you, Karen, for being YOU and sharing your thoughts with us today. You, your writing and artwork, and the time you spend teaching kiddos to become future artists is a gift to the world!
Check out Karen’s website and online shop to learn more about her and her work www.karenstantonart.com. And, if you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area you can find some of her artwork for sale at Collage Gallery on Potrero Hill or Good Neighbor on Piedmont Avenue and at Adelante Art Gallery in Carefree, Arizona.
