Artisan Designs
ABOUT...
...THE ARTIST
I'm Katie Duker; despite being formally trained as a scientist, I've always had a strong passion for the arts. However, I don't believe these two traits are mutually exclusive; in fact, both my theses in undergraduate and graduate school focused on the long term relationship between visual arts training and emotion regulation and acute influences of visual stimuli on motor output (respectively). Moreover, this store is the culmination of years of experimenting with creative expression using a variety of mediums, styles, etc. For more details about my professional background, please check out my LinkedIn profile.
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In addition to the arts, I love traveling and learning, particularly about people and their culture. While many of my works are inspired by these adventures, most are inspired by the environment and the perfection found amongst all its imperfections.
...THE shop
As mentioned above, Dazy Duker's is the product of my years of experimenting with creative expression and experimentation. Also, in addition to many of the pieces themselves being inspired by the environment, I want to emphasize my focus and dedication to the (re)use of single-use materials as much as possible in both the production and packaging of my products.
As for the name, despite being a good student, I earned the nickname "dazy Duker" in high school for being a bit of a space cadet. Yet I was often finding ways to help myself retain information in class by doing things like drawing on the back of my hand to help myself listen during lectures. Little did I know that I was practicing a skill (i.e., drawing freehand mandalas with pen) that I'd continue honing for the next 10-15 years; but more about that in the next section.
...THE process
Obviously with such a wide variety of items available, the process for each type of product differs; however, I'll attempt to briefly describe how a few of my more unique and most popular products are made, including my mountainscapes, wire trees, and freehand mandalas. If you have any specific questions about how I've made an available item, an older piece, etc., don't hesitate to reach out or check out my blog!
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My unpolished mountainscapes are made of discarded stone slabs from my favorite local gem shop in Omaha, where I look for pieces with the flattest bottoms that can be worked like a puzzle into a sculpture reminiscent of natural mountain range.
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As far as I've seen, the roots of my stone and wire trees are more intricate than anything readily available from similar artists; though these roots take the most significant amount of time to work with and adhere to the base stone aesthetically, I take great satisfaction in the realistic results of my efforts.
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As first described earlier, all of my mandalas are drawn freehand with pen, starting from the center and working my way outward, incorporating any "mistakes" into the design to the best of my ability. At first, I drew them on the back of my hand to help myself pay attention and retain the information from lectures. Not only did this help me learn, but it gave me the opportunity to practice my drawing skills, learn to work "mistakes" into my designs, as well as practice the Buddhist value of non-attachment. However, after thousands of hours of practice and obtaining many admirers of my craft, I allowed my friends, family, and complete strangers convince me to start making my designs more permanent. Though the medium on which I draw them has changed, my technique and use of pen have not. I hope to post more details and perhaps a video of the process on my blog or social media soon, so keep your eyes out!
Mountainscapes
Mandalas
Stone Trees
Contact
I do commissioned work and I'm always looking for new and exciting opportunities; so let's connect!
203-249-4790
MISSION:
Create unique works of art, influenced by the environment, that inspire others to share and gift to themselves or others