Footprint Arts and Karen Whiterod
Why "Footprint Arts"? After graduating, Karen spent ten years working as a designer-maker of nylon jewellery. "I gradually became concerned about my ecological footprint", says Karen. "Nylon is not a very eco-friendly material and I used various chemicals in the process of printing and dying the nylon as well as producing considerable waste nylon." Already teaching and working with community groups, Karen started to recycle plastic packaging materials in her workshops. The investigation and research required to find out what could be done with these materials was just as exciting as the earlier discoveries of how to work with nylon. Eventually Karen stopped making jewellery as demand for her workshops has grown. Hence "Footprint Arts" reflects Karen's intention to reduce the environmental footprint of her arts practice, while encouraging people to be creative with materials readily available at home, work or school.
