Karen Banker

Suddenly "Unexpectedly and without notice, in a single moment life changed. Though dazed and confused, I found myself surprisingly okay."	Storm "Ominous and glorious, nature's wicked fury comes in from the sea."
Untitled #54 "Looking out through a mesmerized stare, memories float across the skyline. I pause in motion as one turns and looks at me. "Remember?" it whispers."	Origin of Life "When a child is born, we instinctively marvel at the beauty and miracle of life. Yet, if we take a closer look, a Shakespearian play is performed before each life is created. Quietly, microscopicly and unseen. The treaturous journey toward a predestined place, the suicidal pursuit of purpose, the "one in a million" odds of acceptance. And only then after sacraficial tragedy does life begin."
Fields "Fields of laughter. Fields of sorrow. Perspective changes depending on time or place. Wedding vows recited. Slaves toiling in heat. Wars lost and won. Young children playing hide and seek. All in fields. And all the while, the world reaps the bounty of what these fields sow. From which field do you eat?"	True Self "Wrapped in a conforming exterior to fit in society's box, years pass as True Self becomes more impatient. And then it happens. Acceptance from others stops ruling and joyfully, True Self comes out to play."

Karen Banker
an intimate connection
I experience art as the intimate connection that occurs between the viewer and the materials with which I use. It is in that negative space where art becomes alive and a two-way conversation takes place. For some connections, the intimacy involves volumes of words spoken by the viewer. The materials listen intently and pull the viewer’s words into its paint, expanding its presence outward to its admirer. At other times, it is a lover's silence that fills the space as the viewer’s eyes slowly dance and caress the canvas. Facial expressions become integrated with layers of paint, as the viewer attempts to put meaning to the materials.
I do not strive to create great paintings. It is that intimacy, that alluring, hypnotic connection that I strive to facilitate, to create. When no connection exists, my art does not exist. Yet when connection ignites, viewer and materials intertwine and art breathes life.
Find out more at www.karenbanker.com

Dottie Moore is the author of Lives in Process
The Second Fifty Years

Dottie Moore is a studio quilt artist living in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Since 1980 her award-winning works have been exhibited, collected, and published throughout the world, and commissioned by many individuals, corporations, and hospitals.
Dottie has been featured in numerous publications including Threads, American Quilter (front cover in addition to article), Art Quilt Magazine, Quilter’s Newsletter, and Traditional Home by Better Homes and Gardens. She is author of the CD book, Lives in Process: Creativity in the Second Fifty Years by Ladybug Press and one of the chapter authors of Midlife Clarity: Epiphanies from Grown-Up Girls by Beyond Words Publishing Company.
She is passionate about the power of the creative process for transforming lives and is founder of “Piecing a Quilt of Life,” an international project dedicated to empowering senior women by recognizing their creative abilities. Students and audiences for her classes and lectures include visual artists, musicians, writers, storytellers, women’s groups, college students, and quilters.
You can email Dottie

You can find out more about Dottie Moore

at her web site
http://www.dottiemoore.com/