Karen Stokke

In Memory of Lost Trees

Inspired by: Robert Adams, Bulldozed Slash Winslow Homer, Gathering Berries John Willis, Recycled Realities 1

assemblage composed of altered, vintage, and organic found objects, mounted on encyclopedia cover with glue and string

23″ x 12″ x 14″

2023

When my father passed away across the country in early spring of 2021, I drew solace from the stand of tall, ancient pines and maples which grew just beyond the fence of our tiny yard in Massachusetts. Dad was a gentle man who shared an enduring love for nature with his family, and so I felt near to him under the trees. They were still full of birdsong when felled by a developer’s crane the following year, another loss I felt deeply. With its thematic concept derived from Bulldozed Slash, this piece utilizes a lifetime of “gatherings,” among them vintage and organic found objects (Gathering Berries). Honoring the cyclical nature of Recycled Realities #1, I have created “trees” from a former tree itself via the pages of a dismantled encyclopedia. Lastly, symbolized by surviving pinecones, is my hope this work will ultimately be to the viewer an impetus for renewal.

Karen Stokke

Just Right: For Peace, Love, Pride, and Captain Kirk

Assemblage composed of vintage jewelry, fabric gloves, plastic trinkets, and artificial succulents on department store model hands.

11″ x 15″ x 6″

2023

Regardless of the series, my work is all unified by one overarching theme–reality. I choose to embrace the chaos, the mundane, the less-than-picturesque. I attempt to capture struggles of being a mother and a human being, as well as the quiet moments that often go unappreciated. Every piece tells a story. My work is never glamorized. Often my work is not meant to be pretty as reality is not always pretty. Some may say much of my work appears dark, but to those I must respond that, just as with life, a sense of humor is often required.

Karen Stokke

George Bailey’s Dream

found objects with acrylic paint and jute twine on antique books.

11.75″ H x 9.25″ L x 7.25″ D

2023

In the film It’s a Wonderful Life, Jimmy Stewart’s character George Bailey aspires to go to college and explore the world, but then sacrifices his dreams in order to take on necessary responsibilities. I created this piece to honor those ordinary individuals who, like George Bailey, place the needs of others above their own, living extraordinary lives as a result. My great-uncle Dean, whose textbooks are used in this work, was one of those heroes.

Karen Stokke

Hope’s Nest

rattan, metal, plastic found objects on book pages with glue, wire, string

13.5″ x 8″ x 7.5″

2024

This piece takes inspiration from the poem by Emily Dickinson where “hope” is likened to a bird unruffled by even the stormiest of seas. In mounting a rattan nest at an angle atop book pages from the writings of Herman Melville, I reference this steadfastness in the face of nature’s adversity.

Karen Stokke

Why Cinderella Really Fled the Ball

Inspired by: Henry George Todd, Study of Strawberries Justin Walker, Daddy Bruce

epinephrine injection trainer, edible dried flowers, foam pumpkin decoupaged with paper napkin and acrylic, found materials, wooden drawer

3.75″ x 7″ x 5.5″

2024

For people with severe food allergies, every dietary choice must be made with an awareness of one’s own mortality, mirroring the juxtaposition of allure and decay in Todd’s “Strawberries.” Walker’s visual of thighs and heels evoked an image of epinephrine being injected into a person’s thigh during an allergic reaction, with urgency for medical attention before the epinephrine wears off not unlike Cinderella’s race against the clock. Lastly, just as Walker’s piece conveys taste as “in the mind,” people with food allergies have social and psychological considerations, such as wanting to escape a situation where they feel unsafe.