I was introduced to some areas of textile art, while at Bazooka Arts, they introduced me to silk painting and wet felting and needle felting. I enjoyed the therapeutic aspects of these and the flexibility of these to create a wide range of art using these techniques. With my mixed media experience and drive for experimentation, I also like to play with such textiles, pushing the boundaries of the fields, introducing new mediums or textiles to my art and having a general play around. The result is a range of abstract and landscape art pieces.
While I was looking at various art forms I stumbled on mixed media, this is right up my street, as being able to use any available resources and mediums to create a piece of art, is so unrestrictive and allows my creative juices to fully flow. I loved conducting workshops and activities in the Science Centre that used this type of concept, of using a whole host of resources to achieve a set goal. So, in turn I love this art form, and find it very enjoyable. Steampunk with its cogs and various mechanical components, also appeal to the physicist in me. Through mixed media am able to convey concepts by using whatever means I feel are most appropriate for the piece I am creating.
The first abstract I created (other than acrylic pours), were part of my experimenting with other areas of art. Every now and then, I take the notion to paint an abstract piece, they are enjoyable to create and are very liberating too. I have applied a range of medium when creating these, such as acrylic and watercolour paints and materials. At times it is just good to create art that does not always have to have realism aspects to it, its good to apply colour to surfaces that look good in that moment, that work within the vision of the piece.
My 2 spaniels are the light of my life, my 2 cheeky fun-loving boys, they truly have got me through some very tough times. One is in the twilight of his life, at 13, Glen, was the family pet, he was my parents, I have been so lucky to inherit him. The other is still a wiper snapper at 3, Max, I got him when I lived and worked away, I missed my family and Glen.
Glen is the reason I now paint and am now an artist, I was unemployed and low on funds, I wanted to give my sister something thoughtful and hopefully nice for her birthday. I had a plain wooden box, I wanted to decorate and turn it into a trinket box, I felt that the perfect decoration would be some form of representation of Glen, so I tried to paint it in that way. I gave it a go and was surprised with the results, so then decided to try again painting on canvas, trying different styles and medium and then taking my art beyond pet portraits too. Shortly after my mum got sick, terminal cancer, I moved home to care for her and take over her caring responsibilities. I brought my paints with me and continued to paint my boys. Doing this at this time was a real boost to both my mum and me as she loved seeing what I produced. I may consider branching out beyond these 2 beautiful boys to paint other animals too, keep a look out to see if I do.
I find art very therapeutic, it keeps me sane, what with mental health issues, going through numerous massive changes in my life over the past 2 years, and now living with and caring for people and pets, when I was used to having a house to myself. Art is a great stress relief, its time for me, time to devote to something I really enjoy and which gives me a massive sense of accomplishment. I first used art and craft therapeutically when I lost a dear close family friend, Renee, she was like an adopted gran, I often made gifts for her, which were appreciated with a real curiosity for how I created them, as she was a master baker and needle worker. We sadly lost her suddenly, she chose to make the amassing gift of donating her body to science, she also chose not to have a service for her passing, this resulted in me looking for alternative ways to say goodbye, so I created a special scrapbook in her memory. I also really appreciated the therapeutic benefits of art after I was made redundant, I was in quite a bad place with both my physical and mental health. I was unable to work due to being so ill, yet I knew I needed to do something to fill the time that I felt well enough to do something, to prevent my mental health form getting any worse. I found that art was the ideal thing for me, I could do as little as I was up to, or get lost for hours if I felt like it, I could do it around my health and it boosted my mental health. As I explored the various areas, mediums, and styles of art, I realised that I could also use art as a therapy for specific events and circumstances. So I have created a number of works where I have investigated areas such as; my mental health, physical health, and grief. Through the process of creating artwork with such aspects of topics in mind, I have been able to unleash and express emotions which I hadn’t been able to previously. This form of artwork will appear as I need to unleash something that is churning away in the old cogs of my mind.
I have a series of pet portraits these are of my boys, they keep me sane, they are my furbabies, I love them to bits. Two cocker spaniels, one is 3 and the other is 13, they have gave me lots of love and gave me many hugs through very tough times. They cared for me as I cared for my family members. I’m also lucky that they are happy to let me paint or make away as long as I give them their play time too.
Hi, I’m Karen, a Physicist, Science Communicator, Educator, Carer and now Artist, I love looking at the world, through various perspectives, and expressing what I see. This has been true within science, its communication and education and now within my art. I use many styles, mediums and forms to take an idea and turn it into a one or a kind pieces. I’m having so much fun experimenting with and blending art and science to create. I hope you have fun looking at my work.
I believe in channelling my creative urges in order to produce unique artwork or decorative pieces in Coatbridge, Scotland. I have always been a dabbler in many forms of arts and crafts, for fun and creating gifts for family and friends over the years, however, began to take arts and crafts more seriously when i was made redundant and faced a number of major family and personal health issues over a very short space of time. I found my life had been flipped upside down. I became a carer, suffered loss, and had many issues to deal with. Creativity and my dogs became my coping mechanism, my way of attempting to keep my physical and mental health on an even keel. My inspiration for my work relates to my feelings and emotions, as I express myself through my work. With a scientific background, studied physics at uni, worked in the Science Centre,
I love experimenting and this is still true in my art. Calpin Creatives is born out of a combination of circumstance, my growth as an artist and experience, which allows my perspective as an artist to be experimental and contemporary. Art is how I battle against mental ill health and hope offer new ways of viewing the world. Feel free to have a look at my work.
