Karen Rips - Thousand Oaks, California

1. How do you describe yourself? I would describe myself as an artist who like to work with fabric. I am also a wife. mother, soon to be grandmother, and retired nurse.

2. What is your creative process? My creative process varies. Sometimes I just start throwing things on my design wall with no end in sight, but lately I've started with an idea from photos I've taken, and events happening in my life.

3. What's your style? My style is usually abstract with fabric I've created myself through surface design.

4. How long have you been a quilt maker/fiber artist? I have been a quilt maker for 30 years, with emphasis on fiber art for the last 7 or 8 years.

5. Do you listen to music when you make art? I like to listen to music when I'm working, I usually set my Ipod to random, but occasionally I know I'll be energized by Los Lonely Boys, or soothed by Annie Lennox

6. What do you do when you are blocked creatively? When I'm feeling blocked, I get out my scrapbook, where I've cut out pictures of things I like, and jotted down notes of something I want to pursue. Sometimes I do design exercises, such as tracing a picture, then taking out lines in subsequent drawings until I'm down to 4 or 5 lines.

7. Do you teach? I don't teach and I'm not sure I would have the patience for it.

8. Are there artistic endeavors that you have yet to do? I hope I always have artistic endeavors. I don't think I've even scratched the surface yet and I hope I never catch up to what I want to do.

9. How do you balance your family life and art? My husband and I are both retired with no kids at home (knock on wood!), so I have lots of time to pursue my interests.

10. What is the best part about what you do? The best part is when what I create is even better than I had imagined, which rarely happens, but is gratifying when it does.
blog address is http://www.fiberartmusings.blogspot.com/
my 12 x 12 is http://www.twelveby12.blogspot.com/