Karolina Adams

karolinaadams.com | @karolina.adams

Karolina Adams is an artist working in ink and graphite, illustrating life as it plays out in her head. Adams’ work is quirky with a touch of sophistication, which reflects her playful, at times scrambled, character on the surface with an intense and serious core.

Art has always been a part of Adams’ life. At times it played a dominant part and other times as a quick scribble on a restaurant napkin. However, drawing was put on a shelf for a good few years, after Adams finished school and went to work as an Interior Architect.

Adams studied Interior Architecture at Columbia College, Chicago IL, graduated with a B.F.A. and entered the field. A few years later she discovered that mundane space planning and office environment were too rigid for the on-the-fly, change-craving artist. In 2012 synchronicity took place; Adams found her sketch book from college, got encouraged to submit the drawings to a gallery and got accepted. From there a few other galleries expressed interest in representing Adams’ work. Adams is a permanent gallery artist in Scottsdale AZ and Lenox, MA. In addition, she has presented her work in solo and group shows around Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico and Illinois.

 

Artist Statement

I’m an introvert by nature so drawing has always been my alternative to talking out my issues. I’m not a very graceful speaker. My conversations are messy, I run in circles with my idea and trip over my words. When I draw I’m clean, minimalistic and to the point. So instead of verbally sharing my internal chaos, it’s a LOT easier for me to engage in drawing, unload the feelings, and work through the thoughts and emotions and tell my stories. Drawing quiets my scrambled mind. Most of the time, I do quick sketches in pencil just to get the initial raw emotions out. I go through the emotion while creating the piece. I cry with my pieces, I’m joyful with them and everything in-between. Sharing them with the world at first was a scary thought, but it has gifted me tenfold, which I did not see coming. I realized that I’m not a weird duck in the way I think, see and experience the world. People find themselves in my stories, which makes me realize we’re all weird and in turn uniquely the same.

Description of Work for She Tempe

For the SHE project I chose a collection of my “self improvement” work. I’m fascinated with psychology and how the human brain operates. I love change and I’m always trying to push myself out of my comfort zone so I can grow as a person. This is not to say I take the process of change with a happy-go-lucky attitude. It’s almost always a fight but I’ve learned that the release inevitably brings priceless results.

This collection speaks to my obsession with growth from gaining strength to stand up to people who Try to Cage Me to Putting My Life Back on Track after it got derailed.

I hope this work inspires others to step out of their comfort zone as that’s where your best life and opportunities live.