I was impressed with Karen Johnston’s luxe, mosaicworks mirrors the first time I saw them at Toronto’s Elliott & Ward. Her glorious, hand-crafted pieces are big but never brash thanks to a sophisticated, mostly monochromatic palette.
Ultimately, Karen’s mirrors struck me as supremely feminine with their quiet shimmer and subdued colour stories. And then I saw her Bling mirror, above, at the Interior Design Show. With Bling (28.5” diameter, $1,750), Karen subversively repurposes hardware store materials like common nuts and plumbers chain (look closely at the detail) and transforms them into something truly, stunningly beautiful! Now, I’m an unabashed fan.
That Johnston is personable and down-to-earth makes me want to blow her horn all the louder. Trained at the Ontario College of Art & Design in the 1980s, her career took a variety of twists and turns before she discovered mosaics through the work of artist Kaffe Fassett.
A stay-at-home Mom, Johnston toils in her basement studio whenever time permits. She works on several pieces at once in order to keep herself from cracking up: “It’s incredibly tedious work,” she reveals, and yet she’s madly passionate about it because the tedium reaps such spectacular results. In addition to tile and hardware supplies, Karen also incorporates rhinestones and beads into her work.
The feedback she earned at IDS was effusive in the extreme. Consumers, designers, even HGTV show hosts made a pilgrimage to her small booth in the Studio North section of the show devoted to original Canadian designs.
“Aside from the pieces I have on display at Elliott & Ward, no one ever sees me or my work,” says Johnston. “I come out of my basement once a year for IDS where I have this little ‘store’ and it’s so fantastic to talk to people and feel their excitement about my work. It’s enough to keep me going for another year.”
February 17th, 2009 at 7:14 am
Girly, yes, but I like them, too!
February 17th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Super cool and super glam!!I love these mirrors.
March 4th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Woo-hoo! I met Karen a few years ago at her first booth at the One of a Kind Show, and I’m so happy to see things have really taken off for her! A truly gifted artist, and an absolutely lovely person.
April 17th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
I agree with brettjwalther. When I had an association with Elliott&Ward I met Karen (and her family). What lovely people and Karen is supremely talented.
October 17th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
I have 2 of Karen’s mirrors and would have a house full if I could! They make you happy just to look at them. The work of the artist. Karen Johnston, is truly one of a kind.