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Kara Young - Resume
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Ancient Dreams | |
Kara Young is an internationally recognized professional fiber/mixed media artist throughout the United States, in Europe and in Japan. Her work is seen as ancient but also contemporary fitting in many different environmental settings.
Kara has worked as a fiber artist since the beginning of her art career starting with sculptural weavings and then designing art clothing and on to papermaking for the past 14 years. She also has created a line of handmade fine art greeting cards, which are carried in numerous art galleries and gift stores across the US.
Her wall pieces are made with thickly cast 85% abaca handmade paper. Integrated into the compositions are other materials and found objects. Crackled joint compound is used to "age" the surface, which is further enhanced with copper or gold leaf, old cedar shingles, sheet copper, acrylic paint and now encaustic painting with beeswax and pigment. The pieces are lightweight, durable and are mostly hung without a frame.
Kara's art is included in corporate collections, such as Kaiser Permanente & Pacific Bell and in many private collections including Isabel Allende's.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Visiting ancient ruins, colorful rock canyons, searching for petroglyphs and aged cracked walls and doors in beautiful old cities such as San Miguel de Allende are my source of inspiration. My work is about witnessing how the passing of time effects the appearance of surfaces in the world around us and how to express this in contemporary ways.
SELECTED GALLERIES
Design
Gallery, Edgartown, MA
Dunn Mehuler Gallery, Halfmoon Bay, CA
Human Arts, Ojai, CA
Ward & Eis, Petosky, MI
Winterbranch, San Francisco, CA
Volére, Albuquerque, NM
New Morning, Asheville, NC
Nancy Markoe, St. Petersberg Beach, FL
Yutimoto, Takasohi, Japan
Casa de Artista, Scottsdale, AZ
Karen Melfi, Santa Fe, NM
Clay & Fiber, Taos, NM
Phoenix Gallery, Park City, UT
Niemann Hayden Fine Art, Scottsdale, AZ
COLLECTIONS
Pacific Bell, Directory Tele-Communications, Walnut Creek, CA
Kaiser Permanente, Rhodes Project, Oakland, CA
Marriott Hotel, Yerba Buena Project, San Francisco, CA
Kaiser Permanente, Roseville, CA
Kaiser Permanente, Fort Worth, Texas
Michigan Bell Telephone Company, Detroit, MI
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Ltd. (Division of Norwegian Cruise Line)
Delta Airlines, Delta Crown Room, Salt Lake City, UT
Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco, CA
Kaiser Permanente, Walnut Creek,, CA
Stanford University, Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic, Stanford, CA
Isabel Allende, San Rafael, CA
Summit Medical Center, Oakland, CA
COLLECTORS
Antione Kareh, Beirut, Lebenon
No Tear Corporation, Scottsdale, AZ
Crown Plaza Hotel, Washington DC
Gail and Lee Bush, Santa Fe, NM
Peter and Kathleen Esposito, Crested Butte, NM
Mount Sinai Hospital, Child Life Center, New York City, NY
Riverside Valley Regional Medical Center, Newport News, VA
SELECTED JURIED EXHIBITIONS & INVITATIONAL
SHOWS
ACC
Baltimore 1994 - 2003
ACC San Francisco 1990 - 2002
American Crafts Gallery Fiber Show 2000, Cleveland, Ohio
Art Resource Gallery - Annual Fine Craft Show 2001, Minneapolis, MN
New Mexico Arts & Craft Show 2001 - 2004, Albuquerque, NM
Deer Dancer Annual Invitational 2000 - 2003, Lake Forest, IL
Eldorado Open Studio Tour, mid-May, 2001 - annually, Santa Fe, NM
Fountain Hills Art Festival 1995 - 2004, Fountain Hills, AZ
Carefree Art Festival 2001 - 2004, Carefree, AZ
Cottonwood art festival 2003, Dallas, TX
Bayou City Art Festival, 2004, Houston, TX
Red River Art Festival, 2004, Shreveport, LA
DREAMING OUR ANCESTERS
For as long as I can remember, I have been drawn to earth based cultures, which have a living relationship with all things of the earth and the heavens. For me, their understanding of life and death - that everything is alive; has meaning, a place, a purpose and a time - is essential to reclaim. It is through this reclaiming that I learn to do my part in healing this beautiful, living planet I call home.
The idea that for thousands of years humans have used nature's materials to create objects of art, investing them with sacred meaning, fills my heart and touches my soul.
The beauty of aging has also fascinated me, especially in the places we so often overlook: the cracks in old walls and side walks, pieces of rusted metals in the streets and rail yards, or decomposing leaves and vegetation in the wilds. These are the primary influences upon my work. They inspire me, drive me, and feed me. My creative process is my soul expressing itself and striving to connect with other souls, past and present, in our vast universe. I feel my work is a portal to " Dreaming Our Ancestors " - connecting me to all life and to the depth of our natural world.
My belief is that once
we, as a people, can connect with our human roots and build a bridge with
those who have come before us, we will learn that we don't live in some
isolated, " high tech " period of time outside of history. But
that instead, we are linked to every human being that has been before
us and every human being that will come after us. Then, maybe, we too
can learn to take better care of our planet and all its inhabitants as
those that have inhabited and coexisted on the earth for eons.
My hope is that my work will serve as a touchstone for those who view it, so that they too may " Dream Our Ancestors " keep their deep spirits and passions alive.
Kara
Young
Santa Fe, New Mexico