Karen Illman Miller

My process is primarily katazome, Japanese stencil dyeing, a process more like printmaking than painting. I began carving stencils using mostly traditional Japanese patterns, learning much about cutting techniques and the layout of the design. This enabled me to design my own stencils, inspired by the images which speak most deeply to me. As a former marine biologist, I combine art and science in my work, I care deeply that what I depict is biologically accurate as well as beautiful. My work ranges from realistic to abstract. Pattern is my passion, pattern found in natural forms, detailed biological images like tree branches, leaf skeletons, or marine animals, and especially the abstractions nature produces.