Student Interview~ Karen Hagen

Karen Hagen's work is focused around, and fueled by, her passionate concern for the world. Illustrator and environmentalist, her images are soulful in spirit and reminiscent of stained glass windows in appearance, which only furthers the shrine-like nature of her illustration. You can see her work in this year's Society of Illustrators Student Exhibition.

How do your personal interests intertwine with your illustrations?
I almost can't invest time in artwork unless my passion is there. It's about the environment and the human condition, but then the topics spread out from there- bicycling, simple every day life, etc. I love people and the connections we make, motion, action, and capturing moments in time.
Your work is very layered, and often times the abstract shapes in your pieces come from the peeling away and covering of different elements. How planned out is this layering and how much time goes into all the different decisions you make?
It's the most intuitive aspect of my work. It's felt more than planned and in a way, sort of Impressionistic. I'll do revision over revision and that way of working relates to the layering as well- painting on top of things and changing as a I go. I'll leave mistakes covered up as I move forward.
As an environmentalist closely tied to craft, hands on work, and self-sufficiency does your working digitally ever come into question?
It's a bit of a loaded question, but I do have a handle on what it means to be a digital artist. My plan is to live on a homestead and generate my own energy- I don't use manufactured paints, no chemicals are being introduced into the environment, and I try to be conscious of just how much time I spend in front of my screen.