Profile
Karen Wilson
Karen began doing kiln formed glass at the Art Glass Center over ten years ago, taking classes including the Artists’ Journey. This led to her becoming a studio artist, doing shows and working with others at the AGC. Karen has also taken many glass workshops led by internationally acclaimed master glass artists. She is a member of the National Capital Art Glass Guild. Her work has been included in many juried art glass shows, including the Creative Crafts Council Biennial at Strathmore Mansion.
Karen’s work reflects the symbolism and spirituality of sacred geometry inspired by her undergraduate degree in philosophy and religion. She is also a certified qigong and meditation teacher, bringing the concepts of oneness and mindfulness in such works as her mandalas in glass. She formed Stardust Artworks to integrate all of these interests. www.StardustArtworks.com
She decided to begin teaching in 2022, collaborating with Nancy Weisser of Weisser Studios, to teach Mandalas in Glass, including qigong and meditation practices for art as a healing medium as well as a means of artistic expression. With this new interest and focus, Karen has joined the AGC as a Resident Artist. She looks forward to bringing these interests to her teaching at the AGC.
I am inspired by the versatility of glass and glass as a connecting medium, a healing medium, something that builds a community of caring among artists and audiences. I love to combine shapes, colors, textures of glass in as many directions as there are stars in the sky – from funky and silly to graceful and serene.
I think of glass as stardust, as being made from tiny specks of sand that the universe brings together limited only by the artist’s imagination. There are unlimited techniques in kiln-formed glass. Anything you can imagine you can do with kiln-formed glass. This inspired me to establish Stardust Artworks® for learning, teaching, healing, creating and building community with kiln-formed glass.