After a brief legal career, Karen Buttwinick turned to art as a source of healing and expression following a life-altering illness. Immersed in art from an early age at the Brentwood Art Center in Los Angeles—an art school founded by her parents—she first fell in love with sculpture and later discovered encaustic, captivated by its endless creative possibilities. Karen earned her B.A. from Pitzer College in Claremont, CA, where she studied Art History and English literature, and participated in an arts and architecture program in London and Florence. Karen has studied with notable encaustic educators, exhibited nationally and internationally, and has work in the permanent collection of the Museum of Encaustic Art in New Mexico. In 2022, she co-founded NorCAL Wax, a local chapter of International Encaustic Artists, to build community and foster support among encaustic and cold wax artists. Based in Albany, CA, Karen blends encaustic, printmaking, photography, and collage to craft compelling narratives that explore the complex relationships between people, the natural world, environmental concerns, and contemporary political issues.