Karen Atkinson – Art and Cake

Karen Atkinson
Lone Pine, CA
Age 68

What keeps you excited in the studio?
It is a compulsion that never goes away, the need to make or work on something. I have never had a full studio until I moved out of Los Angeles after leaving my teaching job at CalArts after 31 years, and that took 7 years to build. I still run Getting Your Sh*t Together, which I think keeps me engaged with artists nationally. Working with artists, and working to make life better for artists has always been a large part of my practice as I run this business as an art practice.

Looking back at your trajectory as an artist, how would you say your work has developed?
Engaging in the “art world” when there were no grants and very little support and women were not yet in galleries or museums much, I decided at a young age, that I did not want to make work just to make rich white men richer by selling my work. I was engaged in social practice before it had a name, and decided that artists could work in many different ways. Everything I did, became an integral part of being an artist, including founding a nonprofit (Side Street Projects) which is still going, curating and teaching.

What role do you think the artist has in today’s society?
Artists should be everywhere and involved in everything. The need for creative thinkers in our culture is imperative, in every part of our culture.

What’s the most important advice you could give to an aspiring artist?
Know more than your dealer. Learn how things work, so that you can enter that realm, or avoid it. The things that have been done to artists is mind boggling and sometimes illegal. Whether you become a gallery based artist, or learn how to be self sufficient in getting the work out there, knowing can be powerful. Hence, 400 pages of free information on the GYST website was created in the 90’s and launched in 2005.

Does age matter in art? Why or why not?
Of course. There is a difference in work created as an 18 year old, and those that have lived a life. Probably a case of being naive to knowing too much.

What can we look forward to from you next?
I have moved to a rural area and now live off the grid. For the last seven years, I have been learning about my new community, which is occupied by many first nations artists, and artists who would be considered traditional. I joined the Board of Directors of the Inyo Council for the Arts, and am working to translate creating programs for artists that make sense here. My own work is gearing back up, and I have created a place making project specifically for my new home. All through the pandemic, I placed artwork in public places for locals and visitors to find. Most of my work throughout my practice has addressed important issues. I am now making rocks out of clay and putting them in public places. While this may seem less than challenging, the stories I have heard about what it means to find something precious has been really interesting. These objects have traveled the world as I live in a place where tourism (100,000 a year or something) is a main art supply for me. These objects will survive forever more or less. I see it as a gift, a challenge, makes the finder think.

Is there anything else you would like to share about being an artist later in life?
I have been trying to retire from GYST for a while now, since there are a huge number of people sharing professional practices knowledge these days. I created software for artists and taught workshops across the US. The “art world” is very different than when I was in my 20’s starting out. Again, I would answer, learn everything, then make important decisions about your practice. Tenacity is my favorite art supply. Never quit.

http://www.karenatkinsonstudio.org
@karenatkinsonstudio