Category
2024, WoodArtist Website: www.karendeguirecreations.com
My name is Karen DeGuire. I have been creating for as long as I can remember. I received my BFA in art from the University of Evansville while simultaneously earning a BFA in Theatre Design and Technology. I studied oil painting, photography, ceramics, set construction, scenic design and costuming. I now use all of these skills to sustain a successful business of creating art and clothing for the St. Louis community and beyond.
I never imagined I’d find myself as a self-titled “laser artist”, but after the maker space, MADE, opened, I was fascinated by the array of new technology they offered. I was especially drawn to the laser cutters. These powerful machines were able to cut wood with amazing detail and accuracy. I started experimenting with cutting trivets out of two layers of ¼” Baltic birch. The designs were inspired by snowflake shapes I used to cut out of paper. They became a favorite family gift and I began to sell my work at farmer’s markets and craft fairs. My work expanded to keychains, cutting boards and more. However, the lack of color felt wrong to me. As a person with a keen eye for color and an inherent attraction to bright designs, I needed to figure out how to incorporate more color in my work. That is how my layered mandalas came to be.
I have honed my skills to make more intricate and elaborate mandalas and other layered images. Some pieces have as many as 14 layers. I have shown and sold my work at Artisans in the Loop, Green Door art gallery, and currently have 2 pieces featured at the Angad Hotel. I traveled to Des Moines, Iowa, for the Des Moines Art Festival last year, where I met an author named Melissa Harris who was writing about the connection between creativity and divinity. She wrote a whole chapter in her book, Where our Humanity meets our Divinity, about my process. I have also traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to participate in the Ann Arbor Original Street Fair. I have participated in several shows in Memphis, Tennessee as well as many local shows.
I love to share my vision and my artwork. I feel like I make powerful connections with the people I interact with in my booth at art shows. We discuss the impact and influences of my work, from sacred geometry to Moroccan tile work to Spanish architecture. It delights me when I see a patron’s eyes light up as they are drawn to a certain piece. It’s fascinating to hear them explain why that piece sings to them. I feel my impact on the community is a positive one, and melding new technology with ancient shapes and spiritual connection is the kind of juxtaposition I strive for.