Karen Seaman has been part of the Margaret River Region Open Studios since its inception — a fitting constant for an artist whose work is deeply rooted in the rhythms of this remarkable region. Drawing inspiration from the forested landscape surrounding her rural property, her practice explores the beauty and intricacy of the natural world.
"My art comes from time spent in nature. I see the way light moves through the trees, birds come with the seasons, how mist rolls across the paddocks. Small shifts in atmosphere or the seasons, change everything. In paint, clay, and sculpture, I try to catch those fleeting moments and hold them still, finding beauty in the places we live." — Karen Seaman, 2026 Over a lifetime of making art, Karen has developed a richly diverse practice that refuses to be confined to a single medium or method. She works across oil painting, sculpture, and ceramics — each discipline offering its own language. There is a coherence to this variety, though: every work, regardless of form, is an act of attention. A pause. An insistence that the small and fleeting things are worth holding onto.
In recent years, ceramics has re-entered her practice with fresh energy. At Happ's pottery, a cherished hub of creative community in the region, Karen has reconnected with skills honed earlier in her artistic life, finding in clay a new intimacy and immediacy — the press of a hand, the memory held in a material shaped by fire and earth.
A passionate artist and dedicated teacher, Karen understands that art-making does not happen in isolation. She brings the same generosity to sharing her practice as she does to observing the world — openly and with genuine warmth. Having participated in all twelve Open Studios events from her bush studio, Karen marks 2026 with an exciting change of scene: this year, she is showcasing her work at Happ's Pottery in Anniebrook. For long-time visitors and first-timers alike, it promises to be a fresh and memorable way to experience her practice.
Happ's Pottery is a space with its own rich creative history, and it provides a wonderful new context in which to encounter Karen's work. Visitors are invited not just to view finished works, but to discover how this evocative new setting illuminates the connections running through her diverse body of work — all of it rooted in nature and the shifting light of the Margaret River Region.