A native of Cincinnati, Karen has been a stone sculptor for 20 years. After marrying and starting a family, she entered the Cincinnati Art Academy with the intent of becoming a painter. Once introduced to stone as an art medium, Karen was hooked and began her career as a stone sculptor. Today, Karen completes her work at her studio in the Pendleton Art Center in the Over-the-Rhine area in Cincinnati.
Bas-relief sculptures carved in Indiana limestone is the work for which Karen is best known. Examples of her work can be found throughout the Cincinnati area and the United States. Locally, her most well-known work is "Creation Wall" at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Montgomery. Her work is also featured at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, where you can find her “Flight to Freedom” relief carving.
Nature-related subject matter is a motif that has inspired her work for many years. Using Old World stone carving techniques, Karen combines these simplified sensual forms with a variety of textural surfaces to create a contemporary design.
Allan Nairn was born and educated in London, England. His strong Scottish heritage drew him to the highlands of Scotland in 1972, where he founded the Glenmoriston Pottery in an abandoned blacksmiths Smithy on the shores of Loch Ness. Emigrating to America in 1983, Allan settled in Cincinnati, where he became a partner in the Spring Street Pottery with Michael Frasca and Richard Aerni. He later co-founded the Final Design Studio with ceramic artist, Jamie Fine. Today, Allan works in his own studio at the Pendleton Art Center in the Over-the-Rhine area in Cincinnati. He is married to the batik artist, Arnelle Dow.
Allan’s passion for gardens has inspired him to create a wide rane of garden-related ceramics. He uses Terra-Cotta clay, which in Italian means “Baked Earth”. Terra-Cotta is a richly colored, deep reddish-brown clay with a strong historical connection. Whether its the everyday functional flower pot, dramatic figurines in ancient Rome, spice jars from the Middle East or classic amphora style oil vessels from Greece, for Allan, Terra-Cotta has a timeless quality.
Allan employs a variety of techniques when creating his work. Forms are either thrown on a potter’s wheel or made with slabs of clay. Relief tiles and plaques are individually hand-pressed into plaster molds from orignals, which Allan designs and creates. Colored slips and stains are applied both by hand and airbrushed. Sgraffito is the technique used to carve designs and patterns into the clay after the color is applied. These techniques ensure that each piece Allan produces is one-of-a-kind.
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