Crazy Birds

From a young age, Karin Kleine Schaars (born 1962) from Aalten loved being creative. Even as a child, her mother gave her scraps of wool and fabric to sew clothes for her doll.

During her teacher training, she knitted incessantly—on the train, in class, and during breaks. Hundreds of sweaters were created, but never according to a fixed pattern. Everything she saw or imagined took shape under the skillful knitting needles guided by her hands. In her Textile Arts course, she regularly made objects for a friend who didn’t like needlework.

Fifteen years ago, Karin joined a studio group where they experimented extensively with materials. Here, she learned to think unconventionally. Her love for textiles was rekindled. She also used her sewing machine extensively, no longer for sewing clothes, but for all sorts of experiments.

That’s the way she  came to card making. She uses a gel plate to print on paper with (waste) materials and acrylic paint. Shapes are cut out of this paper and sewn onto cards with a sewing machine.

During a painting class, Karin had the idea to remove the painted canvas from its frame and work on it with the sewing machine.

In recent years, she has been a regular participant of the Art Bee group in the Quiltcottage in Winterswijk, where she explores various techniques and materials. She also leads workshops on making turtleneck(sweaters) at Studio Sier in Dinxperlo, placing great emphasis on encouraging participants to incorporate their own creative ideas into their work.

Together with two other creative women, she organizes the annual Hip Handcraft Festival in Groenlo, whose main goal is mutual inspiration. Karin particularly enjoys working with bright colors, and recurring motifs in her work are crazy birds.