Karen Landey

Karen Landey calls herself “A cyanotype newbie swept away by the magic.” She has been taking photographs for 60+ years and has started exploring cyanotypes for her collages.
From: Veneta, Oregon, USA.
Shows: Cyanotypes.

[Show slideshow]

A koan is an example of a paradox that transcends logic while silencing the mind. “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” is an example of a Zen koan. This allows illumination to dawn by tricking the mind into silence. This is the moment where creativity lives. Because of the unexpected combination of elements in Karen Landey’s collages, they have been called visual koans. Finding the startling and entangled relationships between random elements requires a stretch of the imagination and rewards with a thrill when a connection is made.

Karen Landey’s exploration of the poetic universe is a journey within a journey and a dream within a dream. Her digital collages dive into the emerging, morphing universe to discover a fresh view of ordinary reality. Her images illustrate the silly, profound and mystical experiences of life and tell a story that conveys her sense of humor. She enjoys playing with alternative meanings of cliché expressions, giving them surprising and unique twists.

The fleeting, ethereal and bizarre nature of dreams is particularly suited to digital imagery. By blending and layering unrelated images, she explores the strange world of dreams, visions and the unified field of quantum physics. This bizarre new world of extra dimensions contains the potential for unlimited possibilities. Photoshop is a tool that provides a way to explore such strange worlds. Being able to create digital negatives of these collages to print as cyanotype is sheer magic. She has been working seriously in cyanotype for only a short time and she is carried away with the possibilities.

Karen Landey has won awards as a collage artist and indie video producer in juried art shows and film festivals worldwide. She started taking pictures with a Brownie camera 60 years ago and has been carrying a camera with her ever since, currently packing a Canon PowerShot. She traveled wildly for 25 years before finding a home in the Pacific Northwest. She loves to walk in the clouds and ask questions for which there are no answers.

“I am intrigued by the interface between quantum physics and mystical realms. This radiant edge inspires me to find ways to bring this light through my artwork and into the world.”

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