Artist Reception March 21, 6:30 - 8:30 PM

I have always loved collecting images, putting them together, and viewing the world in a different way. One morning I woke up thinking, “Why don’t I do collage?” I sat down and put my first collage together. The picture fascinated me. It was a combination of a spider web, a crow’s beak, skulls, a bat, and some gentle hands. It became “Bless the Hands That Feed Us.” I don’t know why that name, but I realized that in order for collage to work, I had to suspend reason and go at it intuitively—which I did.

At first, it was very scary, but the more I let things come together, the more fun and satisfying it was. So satisfying, in fact, that it became a regular part of my life. People ask about my art process and how I come up with such weird names for my pieces. It occurred to me that my process is a lot like an analog image dating service. I start with one intriguing image and pair it with other images until a strong relationship forms between them. It’s not always a love match so to speak, but if it is, a story emerges.

I never judge what I see—I just observe it. When the story is clear, I say out loud, “I’m committing to this,” and all is glued together on paper like performing a marriage ceremony. I see an important scene in someone else’s world—like the courage of Marta as she faces carrots, the pride of Verax as she carries out the platter of emojis, or a little mechanical “weirdo” experiencing a butterfly for the first time!

I am KaLou (Karen Louisa), and this is my dating service for analog images!