Short Artist Biography - Bridget Bernadette Karn

Bridget Bernadette Karn  

Short Artist Biography

Dill flowers Autumn 2010

Drawing and making were always my strongest subjects at school. I realized how important  Art was to me at the age of 14, when I had to choose my subject options  at school – I purposely failed my Biology exam so that I could take Art; my mother thought Biology would be more beneficial to me than Art. The joke is, I eventually went on to become a nurse and managed to pay my way through Art College while I worked as a nurse!

Bonfire 2010 ( My Husband silhouetted)

As soon as I became qualified as a Registered General Nurse, I did an Arts Foundation Course at Liverpool College of  Art and then went on to do a Higher National Diploma in Craft Design, specializing in Pottery, at Carmarthenshire College of Technology and Art in Carmarthen, South Wales. 

My thoughts after college were to marry my Nursing and Art together by continuing my studies in Canada to become an Art Therapist; however, life had its own plan for me… 

I met and married my husband and became a mother within a space of a year instead; then found myself going to York College to do ceramic courses to keep my hand in (and Sanity) with pottery while I was a full-time mum to my two children. 

I became a member of the Northern Potters Association (NPA) and set up my pottery in our garden, selling my work at Craft fairs initially and then just through the NPA events. 
I made and sold domestic ware for a while and eventually Clocks, Worn Art (Ceramic Pendants, Brooches and Cuff links – glazed with crystalline glazes and adorned with twisted metal) and Personifications of Nature (Green Man type sculptural plaques). 

Sunflowers 2011

The Worn Art was the most successful of my range which I eventually sold through York Art Gallery. However, my Personifications of Nature are still on my list of things to pursue further.
Then Life took another twist…
I became the proprietor of a Self-Catering holiday let business. 

Due to a number of situations that arose 7 years ago, we decided (me and my husband Richard) that to invest in a log cabin and to rent it out would be a good idea. As a result I no longer had time to do my Artwork; so I started up an Arts and Crafts group in our village to make sure that even if it was for only 2hrs a week, I was still making and as it turned out learning lots of new Arts and Crafts.

I have now got back into painting and become a Felt Artist. I have only just started selling my work seriously again, but feel that this is now my time to really pursue my art.