Every so often, the Yuba College art program puts up special exhibits in the library to feature student art. For the first half of this semester, the fine art of Karen Sutton was on display. After practicing her craft for nearly 45 years, she has developed an extremely professional portfolio in all forms of art, including drawing, painting, sculpting, and design.
Karen enjoys working in all of these areas, but she feels that sculpting is a medium that allows physical contact, exists in 3 dimensions, and has the potential to come alive. She does not limit herself to one specific sculpting medium and has produced sculptures made of clay, wood, and cardboard. Her sculpture replica of a viking ship bow was one of the main exhibit pieces in the library and is one of the largest sculptures she has worked on. Starting as a base structure, while working in a small barn she has in her backyard, this replica took her about 3 months to complete.
Some of the places Karen has been lucky enough to travel to, live in, and study at are Nashville TN, Houston TX, Reno NV, Auburn AL, and recently she was able to take a trip to Italy to visit her daughter who is also studying art. The inspiration for Karen’s art comes from the life she lives each day, the students she has had the opportunity to study with, and the guidance of art professors she has studied under. In fact, she regards all areas of her life, such as her marriage and family, as works of art, allowing her to study wherever she happens to be at the time.
The best advice Karen has to offer to anyone interested in the arts is to “be an ARTIST. Get involved in the world of art, explore the mediums, find their personal talents, then enjoy them. School or an art group will advise and help you to grow, the degree is well earned, but BE an artist. There IS work and money in the arts, the very thing you love doing.”
If you would like to purchase or view Karen’s paintings, sculptures, pottery, drawings, and designs, please visit karensutton.carbonmade.com or visit theprospector.org where a gallery of the library exhibit will be available.
NOTE: This article was featured in the Fall 2014 print edition of theprospector.org.
My name is Aaron Thomas Leonard Piccirillo. I was born in Jamestown, NY, but I grew up in Homer City, PA. I have been living in California for about 12 years and I am working on my fifth AA (anthropology, song writing, English, art, and general education). I love swimming, biking, hiking, reading, writing, traveling,and home cooking. Mostly, I love to write about arts and entertainment, but I also like to write investigative stories.
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