Karen Thompson

As a child, Karen Thompson loved to create. It may have been with clay, crayons, paints, or even decoupage. She was probably one of the few children who loved it when the teacher said an illustration or poster was required with a report or project. In college, she took a different path by completing a degree in mathematics. Since her college electives were in education, she became a teacher. For thirty years, Karen taught mathematics in the Fayette school system. Using her artistic talents, she loved creating bulletin boards, math activities and games, fun math stations, and other unique classroom events and competitions. Throughout her teaching career, the desire (and need) to create never left. Karen would say that the analytical and creative parts of her brain had to fight it out. She would constantly be making things, such as jewelry, sewing projects, junk art, paintings, refinishing furniture, and more. She participated in her first arts festival over twenty years ago with her handmade jewelry. As the years progressed, so did her creations. She went from designing jewelry to making photo frames to metal wire structures to creating signs to painting Christmas ornaments. Since retiring in 2017 from teaching, she has concentrated on painting and feels as if she has found her niche in it. In 2019, she participated in several art festivals and had hoped to this year. Unfortunately, 2020 had other ideas, but she has not stopped painting. Karen loves painting items for people to enjoy in their home and tries to keep the prices affordable. “Everyone should be able to buy a unique piece of art, either for themselves or as a gift”, states Karen. Her favorite creations recently are painted wood Christmas ornaments, having made over three hundred during this “safe at home” time. She is hoping, like many of us, that it will be safe for art shows to start back before Christmas. You may contact Karen through facebook to purchase her art.