Karen Hawkins Studio

Nectar has been one of those rare experiences that reminds me why we make art in the first place. What began as a quiet conversation between Elizabeth Chapin and I became something far more expansive once the doors opened - over 400 people moving through the studio with curiosity, openness, and care.

The recent artist talk with Dr. Marina Alexandrova extended that exchange even further, creating space to reflect on process, material, intuition, and all the things language can’t fully hold.

I’m deeply grateful to this community, to my incredible team, and to Elizabeth for entering this collaboration with such trust and wonder. Nectar continues to remind me that art is not only about the object itself, but about connection - the moments where something quietly shifts, opens, or resonates.

Thank you for being part of it.

Our first love

Karen spent the night before Nectar opened just sitting with it. Reflecting on the months of work, the collaboration with Elizabeth, and what it had all actually become.

Roots. Cocoons. Light held inside things like it was precious. An installation so undeniably about life beginning she couldn’t look away from it.

And then it landed. Her youngest daughter had become a mother. And every foundational image — the becoming, the vessels, the sparkling light — had been a response to that without her fully knowing it.

She dedicated the whole show to her.

“May you bask in the love and light and glory of creation that you have become.”

Hear more of the story behind Nectar at Saturday’s artist talk.

Join us for an evening of conversation. On May 2nd from 8 - 10pm, Karen and Elizabeth sit down with Marina Alexandrova, Ph.D. — scholar of modernism, cultural history, and the spiritual — for an intimate artist discussion inside the Nectar installation. Hear how this work came to be, what the collaboration actually looked like, and the creative journeys that led both artists here.

If you’ve spent time inside Nectar and found yourself wanting more, this is that moment. 30 seats available by RSVP. Reserve your spot through the Partiful link in bio!