View the quilt at View Point Art Gallery Viewpointartgallery.com
-In support of the Canadian Red Cross with all
proceeds going to victims of BC Wildfires in the
Kootenay Region.
– TICKET PRICES
1 for $2, 3 for $5, or 10 for $10
Draw Date: August 16 at 6:00 pm
Karen Thatcher, accomplished master art quilter
from Rossland, member of CQA/ACC. Piece by
piece she has created herself a name in the local
community and has stitched her way into the
National quilting world.
It was not an easy road for Karen, her quilting
journey began over twenty-five years ago when
Karen was a paramedic. While working in the
back of a BC Ambulance during the transfer of
a patient over the Paulson Summit from Grand
Forks to Trail a violent head-on collision occurred.
Karen suffered a serious brain injury, which altered
her life dramatically. She had severe problems
concentrating, forming short-term memories and
organizing thoughts. To help with her rehabilitation
process her family encouraged her to take up
quilting. The quilting enabled her to move her
injury forward. Karen was able to regain her eye hand coordination, balance and focus.
However because of her brain injury she couldn’t
grasp the repetitive designs, be precise or follow
someone else’s patterns so she created her own
style, which evolved into innovative techniques.
As Karen began piecing her life back together she
began to create the most beautiful exquisite quilts;
creating scenes from memories, or piecing together
pictures of her favorite places resulting in quilts
like no other.
Karen’s quilts have won numerous awards nationally
and internationally, have been in many publications
and are hung everywhere from government
buildings, businesses and hospitals to private
collections.
Karen says that “The challenge was to build quilts
that include the non-tangible, important things of
life: finding serenity, finding peace, finding space,
finding perspective. Those are all things that we
look for in life but are hard to place in a two dimensional quilt.”
The beauty of her quilts is no matter your age, or
background you can look at her work and be drawn
into a place that reminds you of somewhere you
have been or takes you to a place of serenity. As
Karen says, “everyone needs a place to go to find
peace.”
Karen is an amazing selfless individual with a big
heart, for years she has donated her prize winning
quilts to various organizations, in order to fundraise
for many causes. She has continuously donated
to the BC Children’s Hospitals and the Teck Acute
Care Centre. She has even made beautiful quilts for
the children at the hospital just to wrap themselves
up in to make themselves feel good.
One of her donated quilts is currently at ViewPoint
Art Gallery (in a raffle) in efforts to raise money
for the Red Cross Wildfires with 100% of the funds
going to victims of wildfires in the Kootenay region.
This is an opportunity for a chance to win one of
her fabulous pieces.
If you haven’t seen Karen Thatcher’s amazing quilts
at the Gallery, please come in and check them out,
they are truly beautiful and one of a kind –much like
the person who created them.