Karen Secor

"In the silence of ‘not doing’ we begin to know what we feel.”

Sitting with a cup of hot tea while contemplating this quote, I realize how  the changing colors of the seasons, and the ever beautiful colors and dramatic moods of Lake Superior and the Keweenaw inspire my art.

Remembering back, I was about four or five years old  when I started sewing, and loved drawing, sewing, and painting all through elementary and high school.  I had a classic art education at UCLA and California State College, Los Angeles where I received my BA in Art: color, design, drawing, oils, printmaking, jewelry, weaving, and wood carving.  After graduating I taught art and crafts to blind and vision impaired adults and children.  I continued my own art in quilting, appliqué, cloth doll-making, embroidery, calligraphy, water color, oils, and felting, but always coming back to hand sewing and embroidery.  In my mind I see color, line and shape in fabrics and threads.  Fabric, thread, and needle are my paints and brushes.

This quote from Edward Lucie Smith is my answer to “Why embroider? Or make other art work?”  —-  “Embroiderers’ primary aim is to give delight by using skill combined with imagination to create things that will be immediately recognized as being beautiful.”