27 Millennium - Twenty-fourth Edition ARTS, MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT does not consider herself a traditional jeweler, this venture grew out of a need to engage in daily creative work while caring for her father in 2003. Making jewelry enabled her to consistently dedicate herself to her artistic craft. Ms. Stahlecker’s craft is hand papermaking, an art that dates back centuries. She has spent 60 years researching the art form worldwide through fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Fulbright Program. Her study and work have earned her the Master Papermaker designation, a rare and notable distinction. Many of Ms. Stahlecker’s creative pieces are three-dimensional installations made of handmade paper. Her expertise encompasses traditional European and Japanese hand papermaking. Through her hands-on work, she has contributed to the development of this art form, blending history from both Eastern and Western traditions into studio practices. Ms. Stahlecker has held teaching positions throughout her career, most recently a visiting assistant professorship at the University of Arizona's College of Fine Arts in Tucson in 1999. Previously, she was an adjunct professor in the department of fine arts at the University of Alaska Anchorage and a visiting artist in the fiber department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Earlier in her career, Ms. Stahlecker served in a prestigious arts administrative role at an art center in Alaska. The state’s breathtaking beauty – and her upbringing on a farm with nature-loving parents – have inspired advocacy against global warming and other environmental issues, a recurring theme in her art. Ms. Stahlecker is now compiling and annotating her extensive research on hand papermaking while also organizing her published and unpublished work. Karen Stahlecker has built her artistic career on one of the most fragile mediums: paper. She recalls how a summer spent recycling paper in her backyard sparked her curiosity. Then, as part of the printmaking department in college, she became deeply engaged with the behavior of paper. Her interest launched an ongoing journey of learning and six decades of engaging creative work. Ms. Stahlecker owns WillOaksStudio, a jewelry design studio she opened in 2008. While she KAREN STAHLECKER OWNER WillOaksStudio Woodstock, IL
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