Karla the Person Karla the Artist Photo Album A Note to You
Please come in. I love to visit, to meet new friends and to hear thier stories. I also enjoy the opportunity to share my own story, always desiring that it will bring encouragement and hope to the hearer. And it fascinates me how quickly we can find things in common... places we've been, similar experiences we've had, or people we've known. As you allow me to share bits of my story with you, it will be interesting to see what things you discover that we share in common. Hopefully, you will discover that I really am just an ordinary sorta woman but with an extraordinary sorta God and wherever there is good... He gets all the glory!
I was born in Hannibal, Missouri, (yes - the home of Mark Twain and the "show me" state!) but grew up just a few miles away in Quincy, Illinois. I loved to draw as a little girl and more then once, was caught doodling when I should have been doing something "more important!" I always wanted to be an artist when I grew up and even had the opportunity to study graphic art at Southern Illinois University fully paid. But just weeks before I was to leave for school, I fell in love and, with little hesitation, changed my plans from being an artist, to being a wife and mom.

Michael and I were married in 1970 and two years later I gave birth to my only child, Michelle. It blesses my heart to be able to say that these two are my very best friends and my greatest supporters! Today I'm also privileged and honored to have a wonderful son-in-law (and in-love), Gary, and to be Grandma to two precious girls, Alexis and Jessica. (That's them in the circle of stars!)

Michael and I moved from Illinois to the White Salmon, WA area in 1972 and I got my first taste of country living. I loved it!! It was during the next ten years that I developed my passion for gardening, canning, sewing, and crafting - the creative avenues which helped me express my own personality and my love for my home, family, and friends. It was also during this time, in 1980, when I first met and came to know Jesus Christ as my Savior, Lord and Very Best Friend. Little did I know, that this city girl was being prepared physically, mentally, and spiritually for the next big move . . . north to Alaska! Our four years in Sutton, AK filled our hearts with a treasury of great memories and testimonies of God's amazing faithfulness. Today, Michael and I live in Battle Ground, WA surrounded by the beauty and inspiration of the Great Northwest and just a few minutes drive from our daughter and her family. Michael has his woodshop, I have my studio and we are content.
To date, I have written and illustrated thirteen books, but I have to tell you, being a writer was never part of my plan for my life. And even though I wanted to be an artist when I was a little girl, I would have never imagined illustrating so many books of my own and having a collection of products created from my art! And what is still most amazing to me (and to my family!), is that only a few years ago I could not have said more than a handful of words in a group of more than two and today I find myself standing in front of large groups of women, sharing the Good News of God's love and grace and encouraging other women like myself, to be all that God has designed them to be. It's an incredible story . . . not about me . . . but about God... and His faithfulness to seek and save the lost.

I've been asked about my background in art,
what inspires me, how I got my start.
I confess, in truth, I love telling the story
because it really does give God the glory!