Karen Lee Thrasher
Living in Hawaii for more than 20 years) Karen Thrasher has fallen in love with the beauty at these tropical islands. Her work portrays this love through the soft turn at a leaf) the delicate call at an orchid's throat, the smile at a turtle, the splash at a whale or the tailing light on a mountain vista.
Born and educated in the state of michigan, Karen attended Michigan State University and graduated with honors trom the Center tor Creative Studies in Detroit, earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree.
Karen is well versed in many mediums. In addition to major paintings in oil and acrylics, she also paints with dye on silk, using the gutta resist technique. Vibrant color and flowing lines characterize these art works. Her images are simple and ,yet bold. The hopes to create a sense of "joie de vivre" through her images.
Ceramics and glass are also among her favorite mediums. She loves the immediacy, surprise and mystery ot Raku as well as the infinite possibilities for expression through sculptural Low Fire ceramics. She creates panels of stained glass and works with glass tusing, torch worked glass and hand blown hot glass.
She says, "Hot glass is the most difficult and ,yet the most incredible art form I have ever been involved with. Not only is it physically challenging, but it requires intense concentration and volumes ot knowledge about the nature of glass in its many molten states. Working with hot glass is like manifesting magic! In its molten state, it has the potential to become whatever my dreams imagine. I use my breath, my hands, my intention and my knowledge of gravity and heat to create objects ot beauty. In turn, this beauty nourishes my soul"
