Karen makes art as a way of expressing her thoughts, and when she creates it, she experiences a feeling of energy, that ends with satisfaction when she has finished something she likes. She's always looking for different ways to express herself. Fiber is her medium of choice because it is tactile, easily manipulated, and it takes a lot of different treatments. She creates her own fabric using a variety of surface design techniques.She then experiments with several tactile elements to bring the piece alive. Tactile elements are important in her work because they give the piece even more reason to get up close and look at the art; they also give Karen the chance to make the piece more realistic. She hopes viewers of her work will experience surprise, peace, agitation or whatever she's conveying with that piece