Karen began making pots in the early 70s after completing a degree in chemistry at University College London and working as a computer programmer. Discovering ceramics she quickly realised her real vocation. Mainly self-taught, Karen worked briefly for a production potter in Yorkshire, then moved back to London and in 1977, set up her first pottery in Hackney, East London.

 

Karen made functional pottery, working in reduction fired stoneware. Each piece is first thrown or hand-built, then individually worked and decorated with stripes, spots and cross-hatches which enhance aspects of its form. The reduction firing generates muted colours, often marked out with darker lines of patterning, producing a stillness and sobriety which Karen has expressed as a quality she is drawn to. Quiet and contemplative, her work reveals its qualities to the viewer over time and through use and handling.

Gallery - click images to enlarge