Karen S Klemp was born Karen Masselink in 1949 in Nebraska. At age one she moved to Michigan where she lives now and has most of her life. She has been married over 52 years raising 5 children and presently having 6 grandchildren. Her home and studio is in Spring Lake Michigan.
Klemp is presently working with wax and dye on cloth. One might call it batik, however, her style is more contemporary than what is commonly thought of as "batik." Karen enjoys batiking sometimes, painting and occasionally doing collage.
Her most recent showing was at Central Park Place, formally known as The Community Center in Grand Haven where she had a one woman show in January 2025. THE SEASONS OF MICHIGAN was a showing of Klemp's paintings from around the neighborhood depicting the beauty of each season in Michigan. Karen sees the four seasons as a reflection of different stages of life, each having its own beauty. Our lives, like the seasons, never end but are a mere transition of existence.
In 2017 Klemp also did a show of seasons using dye and silk as her media rather than acrylic paint.
This show was at the Delite restaurant. Other works of Karen Klemp have been in The Village Baker in Spring Lake. From 2011 to 2014 where she did large collages of landmarks around West Michigan like Hoffmaster Park, the pier in Grand Haven, the train in Grand Haven, the wet lands of Spring Lake and downtown Grand Rapids. Karen Klemp enjoys using different media.
Karen Klemp is a retired art teacher and Montessori teacher. She has taught over twenty years in both private and public schools pre K through grade 12. Her degrees come from Central Michigan University with a BA in art education, a BS from Grand Valley University, an international training in Montessori pre k - age 6 in Atlanta Georgia, Montessori Institute of Atlanta, and a masters degree in education from Cleveland State University.
Karen Klemp also enjoys implementing art projects with her grandchildren and their friends. Upon visiting a friend who does art workshops in the Arlington Virginia area, Karen worked alongside of him. She hopes to do more of this in the future. In December 2024 Karen Klemp implemented a children's workshop where the children, ages 8-12, learned about the life of Gustav Klimt, located Austrian on a world map, and created their own TREE OF LIFE using gold acrylic paint, markers and gems.
Whether Karen Klemp is painting, dying fabric, consulting, or implementing an art project, her objective in her work is the same: to help people discover more about themselves and experience joy in their lives.