Karen Sorenson
Karen Sorenson, 89 passed away after a lengthy illness on December 25, 2024. She was born September 12, 1935. She is survived by a daughter: Tamar Kirsten Sorenson.
Memorial services will be held on September 18, 2025, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Cibola Arts Council 1001 W. Santa Fe Ave. Grants, NM.
She has outstanding accomplishments throughout her life. She was an accomplished artist.
Education: Hunter College, CUNY, New York City, NY. Bachelor of Fine Arts. Eastern Connecticut State College, Willimantic, CT. Summer art & Craft Workshop. Courses in Pewter smithing and Metalsmithing, with Frances Felten, graduate level. Heard Museum Craft School, Phoenix, AZ. Lost Wax Casting with Bob Winston. Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. Courses in Art & Anthropology, undergraduate level. New School/Parsons School of Design, New York City, NY. Jewelry Techniques, with Debra Aguado, undergraduate level.
Exhibitions: Double 6 Gallery, Grants, NM. Exhibiting craftsman. Gallery 66, San Fidel, NM. 'Quadratruss '18.' Rocky's, Grants, NM. Exhibiting craftsman. Art Walk, Rocky's, Grants, 10/19/13. New Mexico Arts & Crafts Festival, Albuquerque, NM. 6/09. New Mexico State Fair Fine Arts Gallery, Albuquerque, NM. New Mexico's Own, Wholesale Market, Santa Fe. 8/10. Mission Gallery, Grants, NM. Exhibiting craftsman. Korner's Gallery, Grants, NM. Exhibiting craftsman. Old School Gallery, Ramah, NM. Exhibiting craftsman. Fiesta de Colores, Grants, NM. Exhibiting craftsman. Holiday Arts Market, Grants, NM. Exhibiting craftsman, 2009. Cibola Arts Council, Grants, NM. 'Cibola Arts Studio Tour.' 17th Santa Fe Gift Market, Santa Fe, NM. Exhibiting craftsman. Connections Gallery, Easton, PA. Exhibiting craftsman. City Without Walls Gallery, Newark, NJ. Exhibiting craftsman. National Council of Jewish Women, Essex County, NJ. 'Focus on Arts Juried Show.' Zimmerli Art Museum Gallery, Rutgers, New Brunswick, NJ. 'Holiday Boutique.' Wilson Gallery, Mountain Lakes, NJ. 'Holiday Art.' Nabisco Gallery, East Hanover, NJ. 'Come To The Table.' New Jersey Designer Craftsmen, New Brunswick, NJ. 'Living with Craft,' 'Flora & Fauna,' 'Jewelry & Humanities.' Exhibiting craftsman. New Hope Outdoor Festival, New Hope, PA. Exhibiting craftsman. Peters Valley, Peters Valley, NJ. Watchung Arts Center, Watchung, NJ. 'Two Persons - Jewelry,' 'Paper & Sterling,' 'Art As Gifts,' Member's Shows. Madison Library Gallery, Madison, NJ. 'People and Places.' Pierro Gallery of South Orange, South Orange, NJ. Holiday Shows. Art in the Park, Montclair Cooperative School, Montclair, NJ. Exhibiting craftsman.
It is the reflective quality of the metal that intrigues me, often nature and natural forms provoke the designing process. Usually, I work with sterling silver and occasionally with jewelers’ bronze, pewter, or mild steel, to make one of a kind or limited production pieces.
As a designer craftsman, I design to enhance the wearer and to utilize the form and sheen of the metal. Choosing from a variety of hand techniques according to the needs of the design, and the specific metal, I may decide to forge using hammers and stakes, use chasing and repoussé, fabrication, or lost wax casting.
Partial Listing of Shows: Cibola Arts Studio Tour, Grants, NM. Double Six Gallery, Grants, NM. Fiesta de Colores, Grants, NM. Gallery 66, San Fidel, NM.
Holiday Arts Market, Grants, NM. Korner's Gallery, Grants, NM. Mission Gallery, Grants, NM. New Mexico Arts & Crafts Festival, Albuquerque, NM. New Mexico State Fair Fine Arts Gallery, Albuquerque, NM. Old School Gallery, Ramah, NM. Rocky's, Grants, NM. 17th Santa Fe Gift Market, Santa Fe, NM. Connections Gallery, Easton, PA. City Without Walls, Newark, NJ. Nabisco Gallery, 'Come to the Table,' Hanover, NJ. National Council of Jewish Women, 'Focus on Arts Juried Show,' Essex, NJ. New Jersey Designer Craftsmen Gallery, New Brunswick, NJ. Peters Valley Gallery, Peter Valley, NJ. Watchung Arts Center, Watchung, NJ. Wilson Gallery, Holiday Show, Mountain Lakes, NJ. Zimmerli Art Museum Gallery Holiday Show, Rutgers, New Brunswick, NJ. New Jersey Folk Festival, New Brunswick, NJ. Exhibiting craftsman. Morristown Unitarian Fellowship, Morristown, NJ. 'Woman's Space.' Morristown Craft Guild, Morristown, NJ. Holiday Shows. Glen Ridge Arts Festival, Glen Ridge, NJ. Exhibiting craftsman. Crafts on Columbus, New York City, NY. Exhibiting craftsman. Crafts on Columbus, Lambertville, NJ. Exhibiting craftsman. Peters Valley Arts & Crafts Fair, Peters Valley, NJ. Red Mill Museum Village, Clinton, NJ. 'Blacksmithing.' Palmer Museum Gift Shop, Springfield, NJ. Pierro Museum Gallery, South Orange, NJ. Holiday Shows, Outdoor Festivals. West of Soho, Morristown, NJ. Exhibiting craftsman. Westfield Craft Market, Westfield, NJ. Exhibiting craftsman. Artist Blacksmiths' Association of North America, National Conference Shows: Alfred College, NY; Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ; Dupere College, Dupere, NE. Renaissance in Blacksmithing I, II, III, Phoenix, AZ. Craftsmen's Cooperative Gallery, Phoenix, AZ. Owner member '82-'90. Laguna Art Museum, Laguna, CA. 'Southern California Designer Craftsmen Juried Show.' Western Colorado Center for the Arts, Grand Junction, CO. 'Objects.' Pasadena City College Art Gallery, Pasadena, CA. 'California Jewelers & Metalsmiths.' Moorpark Community College Gallery, Moorpark, CA. 'Two Persons: Karen Sorenson, Jewelry and Rod Stapelton, Photography.' Thousand Oaks Art Club, Thousand Oaks, CA. 'Five Women.' Oakland Art Gallery, Oxnard, CA. 'Art in the Park,' exhibiting member. Pageant of the Oaks, Thousand Oaks, CA. Exhibiting craftsman. Columbus Museum, Columbus, OH. 'Columbus Art Leagues May Show.' Ohio Designer Craftsmen, Columbus, OH. 'Spring Show.' Beechwold Hall, Columbus, OH. 'Fall Exhibition.' Columbus Art League Designer Craftsmen, 'Winterfare,' Columbus, OH. Tucson Art Museum, Tucson, AZ. 'Craft Biennial, Fine Art for Fine Living.' Coconino Art Center Gift Shop, Flagstaff, AZ. Exhibiting craftsman. Artist Blacksmiths' Association of North America, National Conference Shows: Sharlot Hall Library, Prescott, AZ. 'Blacksmithing.' Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ. 'Society of North American Goldsmiths - Arizona Metals.' Mesa Art Space, Phoenix, AZ. 'Foundry Works.' Mesa Southwest Museum, Mesa, AZ. 'Boxless Baskets and Containers.' Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ. 'Eleventh Arizona Annual.' Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, NM. 'Southern Crafts.' Tweed Museum of Art, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN. 'Biennial Lake Superior Craft Exhibition.' Scottsdale Arts Festival VI, Scottsdale, AZ. Exhibiting craftsman. Society of Connecticut Craftsmen, Hartford, CT. Juried Member's Shows, Holiday Shows. Brookfield Craft Center, Brookfield, CT. 'Members & Students.' Jewelry, Pacific Northwest Craftsmen, Henry Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Space Needle Gallery, Seattle, WA. Exhibiting craftsman.