Karen Hampton

Karen Hampton has always sewn. As the second oldest of nine siblings, Karen said she had to sew if she wanted new clothes. She reminisces about getting fabric on a Thursday to have a dress ready for Saturday night dances.

Today, fabric art continues to be Karen’s creative outlet. She is continually taking workshops on quilting, wearable design and surface design to keep her work fresh. She enjoys the opportunity to test new design techniques as she produces original wall hangings and art quilts.

Her finished work may include original batik, dyed, printed, painted, silkscreened, discharged, Devoré, foiled or felted cloth, or various other surface embellishments in her finished wall hangings. She applies this same inventiveness to produce one-of-a-kind garments.

“The mood of my art is always rich, with subtly blended colors, textures and abstract patterns, but a lot of what I’m doing now is dying my own fabric and doing whole cloth designs,” Karen says. “It has always been the fabric that intrigues me.”

In addition to the Indiana Artisan program, Karen is a member of the Professional Art Quilt Alliance, Surface Design Association and the International Quilt Association. While her work continues to win awards at numerous exhibitions, her goals are to wholesale her art through other venues and develop an online presence.

“I’ve seen other programs in other states. I’ve seen how big it can be. Indiana Artisan will help me grow my business.”