We're big fans of Karen Kimmel, an artist whose forays into craft are generating engaging and distinctive works with an organic flourish--be it a colored stencil or hand-stitched embroidery of a flower or an actual bloom that is an integral element in her sculptures.
The chicest of Earth Mothers (although the mommy of two would laugh off such a description), Karen's work is no solitary indulgence. The Los Angeles artist believes in sharing. Many of her projects in recent years are collaborations--with the Creative Growth Art Center in Oakland, the Phoenix School for the Deaf, and, in a project benefiting LACMA, Fendi. At an auction supporting the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibition space, we picked up a couple of her round Stencil Containers, made of laser-cut plexi with a wood base and, at the time, sprouting pea tendrils, orchid buds and other colorful weeds.
(Last winter, A+R was among the few sources for her ornaments, hanging discs of laser-cut wood veneer and acrylic.)
This Saturday and Sunday, children in the arts benefit from a weekend of arts and crafts in the desert, hosted by Karen and pal Apple Via. The two-day package is being offered at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, the latest in this new chain of boutique hotels reimagined with, in fact, a craft sensibility (we stayed at the Ace in New York in early June and I promise to post my review of the place soon).
Kids are enthusiastically welcome this weekend. Although, knowing this crowd, a kid-at-heart perspective will more than suffice.
Don't forget to mention the special code: ArtAce09.