We had a chance to get to know more about artist Karen Fisher when she spent a few days with us at the Fashion Denver Headquarters painting a mural on ourwall and we loved every minute of it. Karen’s fashion artwork is featured in the Fashion Design Center of Denver and has been shown in galleries in Denver, LA, and more! Read our exclusive interview….

How long have you been an artist?

I have always considered myself an artist; even during the years when I was a stay-at-home mom raising two boys and then later throughout my 15-year career as a high school English teacher. But it wasn’t until a couple of years ago when I quit teaching that I was able to dedicate myself full-time to the pursuit of creating, showing and selling my artwork.

What are your biggest inspirations?

Inspiration is for amateurs! Just kidding! No, really, I do believe that my studio practice of just showing up every day and doing the work of making art is as inspiring as going to museums and looking at art, whether it’s old or new art.

I always approach the work in my studio with an idea of what I want it to be…the colors and composition I’ve considered, but as I enter the work, I’m open to see where it will lead me. I let the work tell me what it needs. It’s about trusting my skills and judging when the work needs more or when it needs less or knowing when it is finished.

What medium do you LOVE working in?

I love working with mixed-media. I’m a hoarder of dry-cleaning tags, Japanese newspapers, shooting targets, torn street advertisements, doilies, sewing patterns, vintage wallpaper rolls, sheet music, vintage record album covers…if it’s found paper, I want it! I love the process of working and reworking a surface using papers and paint, submerging and then excavating shapes, and creating layers that are obliterated as well as assimilated until something interesting emerges.

Describe your studio space.

I work out of two studios. In the winter and summer months, I live in Colorado and in the spring and fall months, I live in Ohio. I have a painting table and a comfy couch/chair in each space and good light. I have storage for all of my papers and paints and I like to display my paint brushes, palette knives and textile wood blocks in cut glass crystal bowls and vases that I get from thrift stores. In both spaces, I prefer to create my work using the wall as a support as opposed to an easel, especially when I’m working on a piece that is larger than 30 inches in any direction.

What are your plans for the future with your art?

I have always painted what I wanted to paint, what I needed to paint…not what I think other people want me to paint or what the market wants. I want to do what I do whether or not it fits someone’s idea of what art is. It’s important to be true to myself. It’s exciting to know that I have no idea what I’ll be creating a year from now. I want to be surprised by what I’ll create in the future. I want to make really good and interesting work.

Being a part of a community of creative people is important to me. Hanging out with other artists, visiting each other’s studios, going to each other’s shows and having conversations about what matters to us and our work is vital. I want to continue to show and sell my art in traditional gallery spaces as well as unconventional spaces coast-to-coast!