About Me — Karen Rand Anderson
Artist since day one, musician since day two, writer since day three. Seeks mystery and meaning all over the place. Aging gracefully.
Prologue.
The easiest answer to give people when they ask the question “What do you do?” is to say “I’m an artist.” Of course that’s the shallow/short answer. There are so many layers to “what do you do?” It’s a challenge to go deeper, peeling off the layers. It’s the same when one answers “I’m a doctor” or “I’m a physicist” or “I’m a restauranteur” or “I’m a deep sea researcher” and so on. All those things I could never have been, even if I had wanted to. I was marshaled into this creative life, almost like I had no choice, and I feel inordinately lucky.
The driving force that’s kept me sparked and alive all my life is a passion for personal creative expression, coming from a very (sometimes too) emotional place. I’m immensely fortunate to have been able to pursue my creative passions — art, music, writing — while not having to worry (too much) about where my next meal was coming from, for the most part. Talent, luck, hutzpah and recklessness played leading roles in this drama, and there were times when I got out of dicey situations by the skin of my teeth. (But that’s another story.)
Condensed first chapter
I grew up in Schenectady, New York, in a skiing family who revered the arts and education, and my parents fostered my creative cravings. (Although when I went down the hippie road, they were sorely chagrined.) I had years of piano lessons and a stint in music school in Boston. Did professional songwriting and performing, for a number of years, on guitar, piano, mandolin and dulcimer. Went to art school (RISD) in Providence RI, resulting in a BFA in the late ’70s. My music career eventually waned and art won out. When I was fifty four I went back to art school, to a graduate program in Vermont resulting in an MFA in studio art. I did some teaching here and there, but mostly I’ve been lucky enough to just make art, play music, and write. While the writing hasn’t really been for the eyes of others (until now), I’ve always written. I have decades of journals to prove it and upwards of a dozen large studio journals as well, with drawings and writings about my work, life in art, the creative process. (Sad to say, skiing and the Adirondacks aren’t in my life anymore, but they were a huge part of my growing up.)
Condensed second chapter
Somewhere along the way there was a 30-year marriage, the birth of two wonderful daughters (now grown, and artists themselves), many years of being a mom and wife, the unraveling of said marriage, lots of transitioning and self-discovery, and now my solo, professional artist life, in Rhode Island, where I live in a spacious, light-filled loft in an old mill on a river.
Well, not exactly solo — I have a funny, brilliant and amazing little rescue dog, Ginger. She reminds me about patience, wisdom and joie-de-vivre daily. And also to not take myself too seriously, which I am prone to do. (Oh yeah, as an aside — I’m a survivor of open heart surgery, and therefore part cow, since I sport a bovine aortic valve. You can read about that emotional little episode here.)
Start of the third chapter
As for writing on Medium — I want to write personal and memoir-ish essays, including about art-making and studio practice, mixed in with life lessons, questions, observations, wonderings and wanderings. I kept an art blog some years back on Wordpress, called Cleaning Up The Studio. It’s been floating around out there aimlessly in web-land for years. Here’s a post from those old blogging days. (Now that I’ve found Medium, I might retool and resuscitate some of those posts…)
Interested in memoir? Me too. I did loads of research and writing about it this past year, and came up with the decision to let it rest, for the time being, as written about in this piece.
I’m not really interested in publishing for fame (although I’ll admit, claps and followers are sweet), fortune (maybe at some point I’ll earn some pennies) or glory (we all want to be loved), but to share an essence of my creative self, while also seeking that in the work of other writers here. The writing is helping me to access my own authenticity, and to be inspired by others — by you. It’s like a big cocktail party around here with fascinating conversations happening in every corner.
I’m finding meaningful challenges, like those from Amy Shearn on Creator’s Hub and Kiki Walter on The Memoirist (but writing About Me is truly daunting. Talk about a writer’s challenge!)
I’m continually discovering more of myself, and other people, through Medium. I’m also committed to my art (and I have a new show coming up!! Always a pressure cooker time.) So I’ve been bouncing between having my butt in my desk chair at home and a paintbrush in my hand in the studio.
Summary:
To find out more, you can see my work on Instagram (the best place for artists to hang out and share, like Medium is for writers) and also visit my other IG account for fun stuff and Ginger.
I’ve had a creative and charmed life, in a number of ways. I am extremely grateful for all of it, and I’m tackling this third act with as much wisdom as I can muster.
p.s. My website is sorely in need of updating, but you can check it out if you want to: www.karenrandanderson.com You can find an encapsulated version on my page at Artwork Archive.
