Spoleto Restaurant Sculptures in Northampton, MA

How it All Began

An artist never rea lly knows the affect that their art

will have once it leaves the studio and finds a new

home in a gallery, gift shop, or museum. A piece is

created, and it goes out into the world, where it is

seen by thousands of curious eyes. From there, the

connections formed and the impressions made could

be far-reaching and unexpected. Such was the case

with Karen's sculptures. Before her licensing career

began, Karen's focus was on creating one-of-a-kind

metal pieces, which were sold in galleries all over

the country. One such gallery was a place in

Northampton, Massachusetts called Pinch

Pottery/Ferrin Gallery. It was there that restaurant

owner, Claudio Guerra, happened to notice the

bright, whimsical creations and thought they would

be the perfect addition to his restaurant, Spoleto. He

commissioned Karen to create several mermaid and

ocean-themed sculptures.

Creating Art from Life

Once Karen saw the res taurant with all of her

sculptures hanging from the ceiling, she thought that

it would make the perfect subject matter for even

more artwork. So, the whole scene was immortalized

in an acrylic painting. From there, the painting was

made into an edition of prints, which were matted

and framed. The popularity of the image caused it to

become one of the pieces that we would often

include in promotional packets to various

companies.

Put it on Fabric

When a fabric co mpany called Benartex saw the

Spoleto scene, they fell in love with it and worked

with Karen to create an entire line of bistro fabrics

based on that initial image. The illustration, with its

open dining area, lively characters, tossed foods,

and shelves of wine bottles lent itself to a variety of

food-themed patterns that complement the scene

perfectly. Tossed vegetables, piles of pasta, and

tumbling corks are just a few of the fabric designs

that were created to match this line. The fabrics will

be released this fall and will be available in fabric

stores all over the country.