Karen Kennedy

Karen Kennedy is largely self-taught and has been sculpting for 35 years. She has several styles.

She makes small delicate porcelain figurines, which are painted, glazed and sometimes gilded or lustred.  These are mostly birds, cats, chooks, dogs, mermaids, ocarinas or water warblers, fancy women or clowns, cooks, waiters and sailors.  She enjoys funny or quirky.  Her heroes are Don Martin and Gary Larsen of course. Handmade means anything goes, from a sheep panning for gold to King Lear.

Relief painted tiles are another line. Chooks feature largely here.

She creates larger hollow native birds e.g., wood pigeons, tui, herons, seagulls and gannets, and cats, dogs and anything else that takes her fancy.

She also makes large mainly cats, dogs, and boars.  These are press moulded and then hand finished and glazed in the traditional manner.

She has won numerous awards and have participated in mainly group exhibitions over the years.

She lives with her dear husband and small dog up in the bush end of the Henderson Valley where they are visited by tui, wood pigeons and numerous ducks.