About the Owner.
Karen Hester
Owner and Educator
My personal journey with art has been fairly nontraditional. I was not born with the natural ability to draw or paint and was never told that it takes practice. I didn’t even know that any other mediums besides painting or drawing were considered art! I held the assumption that if you weren’t born with talent then that was it - you could never be an artist. I have never been more glad to be wrong!
I graduated with a Master’s in Psychology in 2013 and immediately started working in the field. I then transitioned to working in higher education. I loved being in that environment, but my job was not as life-giving as I had once hoped.
It wasn’t until my 30s that I really fell in love with art. I started weaving on a frame loom which quickly turned into exploring other mediums and eventually morphed into going back to school to pursue a degree in art. My personal art is mixed media; primarily working with fiber, paint, and paper. Each piece is heavily influenced by stories and literature. See examples of my work by visiting my artist website: https://karenhesterart.com/.
I deeply believe kid-made art IS art. It should be valued and appreciated with as much enthusiasm, if not more, than adult-made art. I never want a child to miss out on all the beauty art brings to their lives because they never knew it was an option. Furthermore, I never want a child to feel like they aren’t an artist because they weren’t exposed to the medium they connect with. That is why I created Raleigh Kids Art Gallery — it was born out of the desire to connect kids with an art practice that is personal and as unique as they are.