Hello!

 

My name is Karen, and I am a Bone Artist.  I was influenced by my father who brought home artifact replicas from Egypt and books on King Tut.  The cultural advantages I experienced as a young person made me choose Archaeology as my career goal.  Once I started taking classes in college, I decided to specialize in Bio-Archaeology with forensic facial reconstruction as my honor's project.  I always loved art and sculpture and this was the perfect combination.

I graduated from California State University, Chico with a Masters Degree in Anthropology.  During this time, I was chosen as an intern at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution where I worked on historic burials and American Indian remains.  I fondly remember walking late at night through a rural cemetery in Virginia with my mentor as we probed for a dead body buried in the soil.

When I returned to California, I worked in Cultural Resource Management as a field Archaeologist, and I traveled throughout Northern California excavating sites and walking surveys to locate artifacts.

In 2004, I became a part-time Anthropology Instructor at Foothill College, and in 2007, I transitioned as an online instructor to work remote at my farm in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  I have a passion for teaching students about archaeology and our human past.

With a love of nature and the remains left behind, it seems only natural that my artist medium ended up being my bone teaching collection. 

I started my business in December 2022, and it has been wonderful meeting new people at shows and events.  I look forward to what the future holds and to the creation of new designs.

Facebook: Mountain Medusa Designs
Instagram: @Osteoeh_Art

Artist Statement 
Seeing the beauty of "artifacts" as special and transformative inspires me to design art.  Creative materials, joyful colors, and nature's elements contribute to my designs.  A combination of ceramic, metal, bones, crystals, and other materials are the foundation for a unique palette.  It is my vision to "save" and salvage art that piques curiosity and attracts the eye.

I embrace the philosophy of finding natural objects, such as ethically and naturally sourced animal bones.  Our spirit lives through visual experiences, heightened senses, and magical elements.