WINONA LAKE – Karen Rowland has always been supportive of her son Jason’s art. Now he’s returning the favor, and their artwork is getting noticed and winning awards. At the Honeywell Center 92 County Art Show in February, Karen won first and second place in the “other art forms” division. Jason took third place in the same category. Jason was then asked to display his art at the Dorothy – Ilene Gallery, 78 W. Canal St., Wabash, for the First Friday in Wabash this weekend. A reception is 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at the gallery. When it was discovered Karen was Jason’s mother, she was invited to display her art as well because her art was so well received at the 92 County show. The mother and son do two very different types of art. Karen does assemblage, which is making two- or three-dimensional artistic compositions by putting found objects together. Jason’s art is paper cut, stencil art or drawings. “I started a little over a year ago, somewhat out of needing to find a hobby,” Karen said during an interview Tuesday night at Jason’s Winona Lake home. Jason suggested she take a look at what arts were out there and she discovered assemblage. Her first piece is basically a clown, though she’s not sure where the clown came from. It’s on a croquet ball with a chandelier over it, and inside a little gazebo. The clown had a broken arm, so she gave him a key for an arm, and added other little bits and pieces. “I love working with a face or part of a body. I prefer having a main face or something to work off,” Karen indicated. Jason told her to just go with whatever she came up with, and just to have fun. He advised her not to listen to others. “It’s been a blast. Now I have too many pieces,” Karen said. She’s given a bunch of her art to family and friends, but is looking forward to creating more. At the 92 County Art Show she sold her first piece, in addition to the prize money she won. She went out and bought more items to make more art. For the Honeywell art show, Jason submitted a paper cut, which is considered a fine art. Well known for his stencil art, Jason said he’s branching out into the fine arts. “I’ve been bopping around, trying new stuff,” he said. Papercutting is the art of cutting paper designs. Jason takes his paper cuts – often very detailed – and places them against a background to reveal an image. Some pieces are so detailed that he can spend up to 12 hours on one, working late into the night. He can get so tired, he eventually has to take a break or stop for the night. “I will do one or two in a row, then I need to do something different,” Jason said, because of the extreme concentration required. For the Honeywell art show, Karen said Jason actually called her. He encouraged her to submit some work, and told her it couldn’t hurt to try. She submitted three pieces, and all three pieces were accepted. Jason and Karen have kicked around the idea of working together on a project. Karen said blending their two styles would be tough as they are totally different art mediums. Jason said they would just have to think outside the box in order to make it work. Karen is still learning what works and what doesn’t in assemblage. Some of her pieces she describes as “bizarre,” and most have been no bigger than a foot. “I had to learn to use all sorts of tools I never thought I’d use,” she said. “We talk a lot. One piece seems to lead to the next one,” Jason said. Sometimes, he said, he’ll get excited with one piece that he’ll continue on to the next. Karen said she does the same thing, but she will work on multiple projects at once. She considered it a hobby, and said she never anticipated she would be selling any of it or taking it to shows. While Jason’s work is online and at different galleries, Karen has a couple of pieces at Elegant Home in Warsaw and is learning more about the showing and selling side of art. Her husband also has encouraged her, and is providing her with an art room as they move to their new house. With their family supporting them, Jason and Karen will continue to make their own style of art. And creating it is just as good a feeling as showing it or selling it, Jason said.
