Karyn Gartel is a self-taught mixed media artist residing in Vancouver , BC Canada . Her passion for paper, glue & scissors since about the age of 3 has finally paid off as her career as a professional artist is starting to take off. Now, at the age of 34 and a busy mother of 3 children, she spends the wee hours of the night in her little studio creating collages, altered books, assemblages and many more wonderful creations. Her inspiration is everywhere, and with the help of a lot of caffeine, she manages to amaze people with her prolific creations!

"If you truly have the desire to create art, you just have to do it! I always have piles of laundry or dishes to do, but I would rather sit at my kitchen table with the kids and "do art" as they call it. Art has become a part of our family and the kids really enjoy creating their own masterpieces right along with me."

Karyn also gets a lot of emails about where to find the images and materials that she uses in her pieces. The best resource has been her family's long neglected photos, most of whom nobody remembers anymore. "Creating art with these wonderful old photos brings new life in place of the forgotten one. It is really fun making up imaginary adventures for these people...kind of like re-writing history!" If you don't have your own vintage family photos, check out her Altered Diva Image Collections that are now available on CDs! Website: www.altered-diva.com