Karen Sylvia Rockwell – Poet & Visual Artist

Karen Sylvia Rockwell is a local poet who recently retired after 43 years in the social service field.

About ten years ago, Karen fell in love with visual art. It began as a strong desire to play, most likely to alleviate burnout. She first took watercolour classes with Pina Bernardi and later participated in the Creative Living Series offered at Sho Art Spirit Performance. During these classes, she learned an art technique from Katherine Roth that helped her discover her visual artist voice.

Karen quickly embraced the technique of decalcomania and developed her own process, which she calls Accidental Art, often created in upcycled frames.

She joined the Walkerville Artists Co-op/Collective in 2016, where she displayed and sold her work until 2021. Karen has also participated in several local art shows, including Nancy Johns Gallery’s Size Show, Artspeak Gallery’s Mistletoe & Snow, and Artcite’s Doin’ the Louvre and Togetherness exhibitions.

Karen continues to write poetry and enjoys playing and exploring new visual art mediums and techniques. She is currently a member of the Seniors Council at the Art Windsor-Essex (AWE).

Contact: kare_rock@hotmail.com

We evolve slowly as the marginalized painstakingly stitch their way into the fabric of society, and the privileged work to keep them out.
Originally an essay written in the late 80s in response to the Harris cuts to social programs, Evolution of the Social Fabric has been manifested in visual art form on two separate occasions, as this state of affairs is a perpetual truth.

Evolution of the Social Fabric is a mixed media piece which was part of the Seniors Council art display at AWE in the fall of 2024.