Kara Q. Lewis

Kara Q. Lewis, self-portrait

Who: Kara Q. Lewis

Where: Southern Oregon, United States

What: Kara is a visual artist and graphic designer. She paints, draws, and does photography, and focuses mainly on portraits.

She’s currently an administrative assistant for the Programs Director of the Ashland Art Center and a volunteer for the amazing non-profit Eyes to Burma.

You can check out her portfolio blog here.

In Her Own Words:

My month at La Muse in 2007 was an amazing time for me. I was given independence and time to reflect on my art. I was a young 21 year old and I needed that time to develop my eye and figure out what I wanted to do with my photography.

One of the most helpful things was having dinner with John, Kerry, and the other residents where we shared what we’d worked on during a week. It kept me motivated and inspired. Another thing I loved was connecting with the other residents. One night we had a little pot luck where we got together and shared excerpts from our favorite books and played our favorite songs on a laptop.

Also, I remember how proud I was to have helped Kerry and John transform the garage from a dark, dusty, spider-webby space into the beautiful, light, and airy place it is now. I have wonderful memories of the library, too. I discovered David Sedaris thanks to someone who donated it to the stacks. I laughed so hard reading Me Talk Pretty One Day. I was sitting on the back porch in the sun and every time I burst out laughing I checked the windows behind me to make sure I wasn’t disturbing anyone.

It’s a wonderful place with wonderful people. I could keep going about how much I enjoyed my time there but I should check myself (I could write paragraphs just about the delicious food - like homemade fig tarts and roasted wild boar - that I ate there). After my time at La Muse, I was inspired to do a research project on artist residencies for a graduate program I started when I returned home in ’07. I learned so much from La Muse and my research and I know how lucky I and the other Musers are to have experienced La Muse and become part of an international community of residencies and artists-in-residence.