Artist Profile: Karol Kusmaul

Karol Kusmaul

Inverness, FL 
kquilt.blogspot.com

1. How do you describe yourself?  Art quilter/retired art teacher/wife/mother/Pollyanna type person

2. What is your creative process?  I rarely sketch.  I get inspired by an idea, and just start ‘drawing’ with my scissors.  I journal every morning and find this helps keep me focused and gets ideas flowing.

3. Describe your studio space.  I am SO lucky to have a building next door to my home, with skylights, kitchen, office and a bathroom.  With an adjoining pool and view of a pasture and lake.  Not kidding.  It’s wonderful.  My husband gets one little corner for his golf clubs.

4. What's your signature style?  I use a lot of fabrics from thrift store clothing.  I adore pattern and am always alert to contrast.  I mostly enjoy doing portraits and figures that tell a story.  Much of my work is handwork.   How long did it take you to find your style when you first started making art quilts?  Right away!  My first art quilt was a self-portrait with ruddy cheeks from hot flashes, and happy hands because I had just ordered a longarm quilting machine!

5. Are there artistic endeavors you are yet to do?  Of course!  I’m always looking at the work of the Masters for guidance.

6. Do you keep a sketchbook and/or journal?  I do morning pages every day.  When I taught high school art, I kept sketchbooks.

7. Being published is important to artists, so do you have any instructional dvd's, author of books, YouTube channel, have a website with other artists for collaborative projects?  My website is at www.kquilt.com   My blog is at http://kquilt.blogspot.com/    

   

8. Do you teach? I taught traditional quilting classes for 21 years, public school Art for 32 years, and Art quilt classes for 6 years.  I currently teach workshops for guilds (Landscape, Portrait, and Still life)  Email me! karol@kquilt.com  

9. Having your work in juried, invitationals, and solo shows is a great way to get your name out there. Where can people see your work?  I have work in the SAQA exhibits: Food for Thought, Redirecting the Ordinary, and Piecing Together a Changing Planet 

10. How many years have you had your work in d@8 exhibits, or is this your first time?  This is my second year to be honored to have my work in the Dinner@Eight exhibit.  I wish we would do An Exquisite Moment again.  Great theme, but before my time!