PDF format - Cornish College of the Arts

the he(art) of communitykaren guzak art ‘76“Community service is a greatopportunity for spiritualgrowth…It’s a big art projectthat improves the qualityof life for a lot of people.”AbovePhoto: Matt BrownThere are people on the planet whose life istruly their canvas. Make no mistake, the artof living and creating a life in art are not thesame thing. For those seeking a masterclass in doing both well, you might take apage from the book of Renaissance woman,Karen Guzak.To begin with, her world is an adventure inalliteration. She is a painter, printmaker,public artist and politician. But those are justa few of the flowers in her life garden. She’salso an award-winning building designer, theowner of a successful yoga studio, an avidgardener, and the creator and host of asummer music series. In short, Guzak is aforce to be reckoned with and an amazinglycreative spirit.Her passion for art became clear somewherearound the age of four. “I remember the dayI was inspired to create my first painting.” Sheshares. “I wore a plastic apron and surroundedmyself with tempera paints. I painted a giantsun disc and when I finished, I had this hugesense of ‘Wow’.” By the time she was readyfor college she had other interests as well. “Ihave an abiding interest in science and mathso I became a pre-med major.” She went onto receive a Bachelor of Science degreein medical technology from the University ofColorado in 1961. When her youngest childwas in preschool Karen began taking artclassed at night and on the weekends. Thefamily moved to Seattle where she decidedto deepen her pursuit of art. “Cornish was thegateway to my art career” Karen muses. “AtCornish I was able to embrace an importantpart of myself. After trying on many styles,Cornish is where I really started working onmy work. I walked away with a sense ofwhat it really takes to be a professional visualartist and solidified my commitment to that.”Her career took off. Over the years Karen hasexhibited extensively nationally and abroad;in galleries, museums, and beyond. She hasbeen commissioned to create numerouspublic art projects for the King County CouncilChambers in Seattle, Seattle-Tacoma Airport,Overlake Transit Center in Redmond and more.Always drawn to leadership roles, Karentaught art at Seattle Pacific University,The Factory of Visual Art, and at Centrumin Port Townsend. She has also beenvery active in the Northwest art scene asthe President of the board of Artist Trust.In 1989 Guzak found herself in need of acommunity of artists. While most of usmight join a club, Karen found a warehouseand converted it in to artist’s live/work spaces:Sunny Arms Artist Cooperative, (namedfor its proximity to the Sunny Jim peanutbutter factory) where she lived and worked.A few years later she did a repeat performance,renovating a building into the UnionArt Cooperative developed with Gene andLois Graham.So what inspires a visual artist to design abuilding? “I really wanted to build a community.I love learning new things and collaborating,and I had some kind of innate confidence inmy ability to figure things out, to negotiateconflict.” The idea of revitalizing a space —making it safe and maintenance free4