Karen Mooney

Born: December 16, 1959.
Home: Jackson, New Jersey.
Education: Salem County Community College, 2008 – 2012.
Degrees: Fine Arts Glass, Studio Arts.
Describe your art in three words: Eclectic, Organic, Emotive.
Discipline: Mixed Media, Glass Fusing, Sculptural Beading.
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Could you share your journey as an artist and how you discovered your passion for mixed media? 

I’ve been captivated by color and texture since childhood and have experimented with many mediums. Although I decided not to pursue art as a career, I continued to create throughout my life. On June 2, 2000, the unthinkable happened. My 17-year-old son was killed in an accident. I threw myself into my artwork without restraint, trying to find relief. The grief was unrelenting.

At that time, I was introduced to Glass Art through Sculptural Beading. Glass beading resounded deeply within me, but not being satisfied with making art in one medium, I bought a tabletop kiln and learned to make fused glass pieces. My obsession with color and texture prompted me to work with watercolor pencils, acrylics, and Wool Felting. The meditative process of creating gave me moments of relief from the grief that was constantly with me. 

In 2008, I decided to go to College. I’d become interested in all aspects of Glass, from hot to cold. In hindsight, education was the most valuable aspect of enhancing my growth as an Artist. Salem County Community College has a highly recommended Fine Arts Glass Program and is well-known for its annual International Flameworking Conference. I discovered that SCCC is the Alma Matar of Paul Stankard, famous for his paperweights and exquisite flameworking skills. 

When I began my first semester, I learned that he had recently returned to teaching and that I would have him as a professor. I studied Fine Arts Flass under him for four years and pursued a second degree in Studio Arts. This seemed a natural progression as it fed my love of mixed media. 

After graduation, I participated in Laura Donofer’s Glass Fashion Show at the 2012 GAS Conference. I created my piece, Joseph’s Cloak of Many Colors, and walked the runway wearing it. In 2013, Laura took the show to the Renwick in Washington, D.C. Fluehr Bressler, a well-known art collector, purchased it and recently donated the cloak to the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC. 

Struggling through my issues was difficult, but in 2022, I began working on the Listening Shawl and completed it in January 2024. It was included at a gallery opening and exhibition at the SCCC Fine Arts Gallery. Afterward, I began submitting it to Open Calls and had much success. I’m currently working on a multi-part piece called The Armor of God. I will walk the runway at Laura Donofer’s next fashion show, scheduled for 2026.

Karen Mooney | Follow

How did studying under Paul Stankard influence your artistic practice and perspective on art?

I will always treasure having the opportunity to study under Paul Stankard. A renowned artist and multifaceted man, he eloquently shares his techniques and inspirations. Through lectures and classwork, he inspires his students to think outside the box. 

Harvey Littleton coined one of the many quotes Paul shared: “Technique is cheap.” Paul explains that while mastering technique is important, content is more so. Content enables the artist to allow their personal voice to find expression. A strong advocate of education, Paul exemplifies the rewards of being a lifelong student. 

Audio aids have been instrumental to his continued education and have helped him overcome dyslexia. His autobiography, No Green Berries or Leaves, and the honesty he employs while sharing his struggles with students enabled me to accept my own learning disorder. This led to a life-changing realization that I’m not “broken”, a pivotal moment in my life. 

His hunger for education is inspirational, and lit a flame in me to expand my horizons. His work, dominated by the mysteries of the plant kingdom, is focused on beauty and spirituality. The themes of sex, death, and God are intricately woven into his artistic vision. He spends time in the woods discovering the beauty and teachings of nature. 

Paul Stankard is credited with being one of the most influential artists to emerge from the American Studio Glass movement. He elevated the botanical glass paperweight into the fine art category and stressed the importance of staying current in contemporary art. He credits his success to the support and love of his wife. As a woman, I find this devotion to his wife endearing. 

Spirituality and art are deeply intertwined in Stankard, and he sees his artistic journey as a spiritual quest. His artwork has become a “physical prayer” to glorify the Almighty. He was the first person that I heard espouse this theory, and it has become the most important and influential lesson I’ve learned from him. 

Although it was years before I could adopt this practice, it remained in my mind. Hearing my teacher share that his first act upon sitting at the torch is to pray was enlightening. It took years before I could adopt this practice myself, but I have heard it echoed by many people I also hold in high regard. Many people have influenced me over the years and there are many whose words have helped me stretch my limits, but Paul Stankard holds a special place in my heart. 

Karen Mooney | The Listening Shawl

Your piece, The Listening Shawl, holds deep symbolism. Could you elaborate on the story behind its creation and what it means to you?

During the creation of the Listening Shawl, my 89-year-old mother was diagnosed with stage four Uterine cancer.  My father was 91 and he had a stroke a few years earlier, so they both required some extra care. My siblings and I decided it would be best if one of us were always there with them. Early in my mother’s treatment, the inspiration for The Listening Shawl came to me. 

Working on its creation filled all of my spare time. Sitting on their living room couch, I listened to Bible Apps and Christian music for hours while beading. My mother’s treatment was brutal, and it was difficult to bear witness as the side effects from the chemo and radiation were intense. I depended heavily on God to be strong for her and alleviate my fears.

My mother’s resilience was impressive. Her beautiful smile still came quickly despite constant nausea and sickness. She showed no remorse when she lost her hair, explaining that she didn’t mind as long as her cancer was cured. Her example helped me to see that my habit of focusing on my grief and the physical pain I suffered from was toxic. Watching her journey, while at turns sad and terrifying, ultimately inspired me to view things in my own life differently. 

Before my mother became ill, I had been praying that I would recognize the voice of God when he spoke into the chaos of my mind; that I would pay attention and do his will. It took me over a year to complete the shawl. Over the course of that year I learned to recognize the calm voice that spoke into my anxious, panicked thoughts and brought me comfort. Although I had become a Christian at the age of 21, my understanding of God and how He wants me to live increased exponentially during this time. 

Deciding to listen to the command to praise and thank God no matter my circumstances was challenging, especially when we were told that my mother’s cancer had metastasized. But the lessons of the past year echoed in my mind and in my heart. I did my best to practice the same resilience and gratitude I saw my mother exude despite her challenging, brutal year of cancer treatments. That experience made the miracle of learning my mother was cancer free 3 months later that much sweeter. 

Having previously existed in depression and fear, I now experience joy in my life daily. Dry spells and lack of inspiration no longer plague me. My artistic voice continues to mature, and my ability to experience the beauty of life and other people continues to grow. My spirituality and creativity have always been closely linked but have grown wings. My love of God and Art inspires all I do. 

Glass is a unique medium with its own challenges. How do you navigate its unpredictability and collaborate with it in your creative process?

The most important part of working in any medium is the knowledge of its characteristics and the intrinsic laws by which it operates. Glass is a difficult medium to fully understand. It is very versatile and can be worked in different temperatures, but this variety also brings different laws to follow depending on the form you work with. 

The properties of cold glass are incredibly different from those seen in its hot or warm forms. In addition, the various glass textures also have their own methods. Incorporating all of this knowledge when working with glass can become very confusing. The techniques used to create with glass powder differ pretty radically from those employed with the torch. 

At first these differences are overwhelming, but with patience they help to make this medium a new and exciting adventure every time. Using glass beads is an entirely different way to work with glass. Asking tiny shapes to form a more significant piece that is appealing and flows easily has its own unique trials and triumphs. 

My love of Mixed Media Art has helped me navigate the intricacies of glass in all its forms. I find great satisfaction in combining mediums and I’ve learned to view each as a separate entity or a large group of individuals, each with their own style. 

Glass will always allow experimentation, but break one of its laws and you have a price to pay. The magic is in combining your ideas with an understanding of its properties. A give-and-take between the artist and the medium feels like a good partnership, one that I find incredibly satisfying.

Karen Mooney | Minds eye

You mentioned that your artwork became a way to express grief after the loss of your son. How has your creative process evolved since then, and what role does spirituality play in your art?

My artwork exhibited extreme mood swings after my son’s death. Bold colors and textures still inspired me, but emotionally I was in a very dark place. I had suffered from depression and anxiety disorders before my son Donnie died. I had a back surgery at the beginning of that year that failed; fibromyalgia and narcolepsy plagued me as well. 

Shortly after Donnie’s death, I had a debilitating flare-up of all my health issues. I became disabled, lost my job, and was experiencing constant horrible physical pain. All of this in addition to the unrelenting emotional nightmare of losing my oldest son. For the next 20 years, the suffering continued and I felt that I could not find my way out of it. 

When I started College, my work was primarily dark and depressing. My peers often told me that my art was morbid. It was filled with self-portraits that I had disfigured and mutilated. When I began my Doodle Series, I felt compelled to include reminders of death and horror in everything. These were constant themes in my life and subconsciously sought expression in my work as well. 

Joseph’s Cloak of Many Colors was the only artwork I created within the last 20 years that didn’t include reminders of life’s pain. It was transformative. 2015 was the year I turned my life back to the Lord, and I began to experience hope again. Paul Stankard’s words resurfaced in my mind; I started to do all things as if I were doing them for Jesus. 

Focusing on God and making my artwork a “physical prayer” has been incredibly rewarding. My struggles with inspiration became a thing of the past. I can’t say confidence, joy, or peace returned to my life because this was something new. I feel like a “new creation,” and my life and artwork now express that. 

I’m so grateful for the gift of art. Art has provided me with an outlet to speak of my pain. I know that without this gift I would have been unable to purge myself of grief and anger. The world of art, art of any type, enabled me small moments of peace. Art was therapeutic in many ways and kept me connected to God. 

What advice would you give to aspiring artists who wish to incorporate their personal experiences and spirituality into their art?

My journey to find my artistic voice was a long, rugged path and sharing my struggles and triumphs with other aspiring artists is a privilege. My earliest dreams were of becoming an artist. Unfortunately, my lack of confidence and difficulties focusing convinced me that I should give up on my dream. Understanding how difficult this career path would be made my decision easy. 

I continued to make art throughout my life, constantly jumping from one medium to the next. At the time, I considered this a handicap. My belief was that if I had enough passion, I would fall in love with one medium and pour all of my efforts into refining that talent. To my surprise, that never happened. 

I’ve always considered myself to be a spiritual person. In retrospect, it was apparent that before Donnie died my tendency was to fall away from God when things got hard. After he passed away, I had to acknowledge that I absolutely could not survive without God’s help. My only reason for creating became survival. 

I had no other expectations and I threw myself into my artwork. I had two other sons at home that needed me, and I didn’t want to leave them motherless. My relationship with God, my sons, and my artwork are what drove me and kept me hanging on during this These things are always inextricably linked together. 

I’ve discovered the beauty of life only with the help of God. Focusing on the beauty of creation and not on my pain and grief has allowed me to experience life joyfully and care deeply for others. My artistic voice and love for humanity grow stronger as time passes. An intimate relationship with the One who gave me life and knows me completely has changed me. I start each day by going directly to him and putting my life and talents in his care. Life is now a great adventure in which I experience joy and contentment on a daily basis. The feeling of love and acceptance that only God can give is so valuable and I’d encourage all aspiring artists to examine their beliefs and lean into God.