In Memory: Karen French

I met Karen at my first Oregon Potters Association meeting where she was the Hospitality Coordinator.  Her job was to set up tables for treats but she went above and beyond.  With her open, up front and easy going humor, she instantly made me feel welcome and at ease in this new group.

Thanks to Washington County Open Studios, I got to know her even better.  Doing her Artist Profile (here), I learned about Karen’s clay journey from “sanity” classes when her children were small in Corvallis to teaching at the OSU craft art center to selling her work at craft fairs, Ceramic Showcase and becoming one of our valued open studio tour artists.

As part of our tour committee, Karen volunteered to help me with public relations.  I had pages and pages of excel documents that needed updating and consolidating as well as help with online event/calendar listings.  It didn’t faze Karen at all.  True to her nature, she jumped in with both feet editing and reorganizing and getting all the event postings done with ease.  In addition to our group, Karen was a very busy volunteer with her Bethel Congregational UCC, Altrusa International, and the Oregon Potters Association.

But Karen was more than just a committee member to me.  She became my friend.  A clay and play buddy.  An advisor and coworker to talk with about glaze problems, clay tricks and share new ideas.  She lent me her terra sig to paint on my greenware to prepare for doing horsehair raku at her studio.  The day came to fire and raku with hail, lightening and pouring rain.  We thought we’d have to postpone, but in Karen’s go-for-it style, we decided to do it anyway.  I wrote all about it (here).  But suffice it to say, it was a great time.  We got some wonderful new raku pieces.

 

I was so inspired, I used the experience to pitch and get a local TV station to shoot live segments from Karen’s studio about our 2014 tour.  It took a lot of work to set up for the TV shoot, but Karen just rolled up her sleeves and pitched right in even though she’d just recovered from back surgery a few months earlier.  During her open studio weekend, she had a great time with her visitors and also made sure to send her visitors onto the other artists’ open studios nearby.

 

Many people come and go in our lives.  But some come into our lives, help us see life in a different light and leave us far too suddenly and too soon.  Karen was one of those people to me.  I was deeply saddened and shocked to hear of Karen’s death on December 11, 2014 from an unexpected and sudden illness. 

Her memorial service will be held January 3, 2015 at 1:30pm at Bethel Congregational UCC, 5150 SW Watson Avenue in Beaverton, Oregon. 

Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Karen went to high school in Trafalgar Castle school and attended George Brown College.  As she wished, her ashes will be scattered at her most favorite spot, Windswept, the family island and cottage at the north end of Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada. For Karen, Windswept has always been a place of nature, family and peace. 

Rest in peace, my friend, we will miss you.

A Chat With Karen French, Potter.

In this blog series of artist chats, I’m hoping to help our artists and visitors get to know each other better.  So, let’s imagine we’re all sitting around a table with a cup coffee or tea listening to Karen share her art journey.

Karen, What got you interested in art? 

"When my children were babies, we had just moved to Corvallis, I was looking for what I call a sanity class.  Getting out and being with adults and having fun.  When looking through the college course book I stumbled upon the clay classes.  I had taken several different art classes, but this one I took to right from the beginning."

Why do you love what you do?

"Clay is such a tactile medium.  I love getting my hands in the clay and the feeling of moving it around and then learning to control the movement."

What’s your favorite part of your process?

"That first pull on a new project.  The feeling of smooth clay moving through my hands, and then having it starting to take shape."

What weird and different material or technique do you use?

"I do horsehair raku. This is the process of using horse tail and mane hairs as the reduction medium."

 

When people come to your studio, what will they see you doing?

"I will be throwing different forms.  They can ask me to make something in particular.  I will also be trimming pots and getting them ready for the bisque fire."

You can see more of Karen’s work and visit her studio during Washington County Open Studios tour October 18-19^th from 11am to 5pm.