Surrey Homes | SH35 | September 2017 | Education supplement inside

Above: Glass dishes, cast from riverbeds by Max Jacquard, are on the dining table.
first Karen wasn’t sure that it would work. “I wanted clean
modern lines, but this is a Victorian house and I worried that
there would be a clash of styles,” says Karen. “But I didn’t like
any of the traditional ones that we saw. I remember being in
one place and the woman saying, ‘have what you want, it’s
your kitchen,’ which suddenly freed me up.” Karen then found
clarifying the look and feel that she wanted much easier. “I
didn’t want handles, I wanted a simple, streamlined shape.” In
the end they chose a German make; freestanding, but fitted –
apparently it is usual for Germans to take their kitchens with
them when they move, so the units are designed to come out
and be moved around. There are no cupboards and no wall
units; “I don’t like wall units,” she says unapologetically. Instead,
there are large drawers that are wonderfully deep and easy to
use, some of them ingeniously pulling out to reveal specialised
spaces for recycling and storage of bulky items and equipment.
Big changes are not new for Karen and her husband, Piano
expert David Manson. They relocated to the house from
Harrow around 14 years ago. Karen is originally from Kent, so
it seemed like a good place to move to, although both worked
in London. Karen was a textile designer. “When I had Dominic
I was able to work from home and then carried on, working
from this house once we came down here.” Inevitably though,
parts of the design process became computerised and Karen
found that the new practices took away some of the creativity
and spontaneity of the work. Also, she says “I got a bit tired of
re-inventing tartan.” She came to a conclusion; “I’m going to
give up textile design and become a painter,” she announced to
husband David. Perhaps there was an intake of breath, someone
sat down in a chair. It was a big decision, but one that has paid
off in many ways. Karen stopped travelling to London, was
able to fit her work around the needs of the family. She had
time to explore the local environment, gaining inspiration from
trips to the coast and surrounding countryside, visiting places
like Great Dixter, and Derek Jarman’s garden at Dungeness.
She held her first show back in 2008 at Handmade Frames
in Rolvenden. “The late great Micky Wilson framed the work.
I exhibited in the gallery there, then got accepted at the Rye
gallery and it went from there.” Karen now exhibits regularly
at West End House Gallery in Smarden amongst others, but
says, “I guess the house is my main gallery,” and has been
holding open studio events at home for several years, the
last two with fellow artist, ceramicist Kate Schuricht. “The
place that explains my work best is my home. My art reflects
my home and my home reflects my art,” she says succinctly.
But isn’t opening up the house for private views and
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