Artful Compass: The Vision
Kari Weaver is the founder and creative force behind Artful Compass. Her lived experience as a working artist and a retail art gallery owner give her a unique perspective into both settings. Kari started writing about her experiences with the intention of passing them on to artists and gallery owners.
As a studio artist, armed with a BFA in ceramics, a relentless drive, and an organizational mind, Kari had set up and moved her home pottery studio three times in the decade following her graduation. During those years, she cobbled together what she believed life as a working artist would be. She took her work to small galleries and sold her pottery at arts and crafts shows. She joined local arts groups and state arts councils.
In 2008, Kari moved to the mountains of Western North Carolina and established Singing Tree Pottery. Naming her studio felt permanent, professional, and committed. She dove into the local arts community, discovering the Clay Club of WNC, a group of clay artists and enthusiasts who meet monthly to share ideas, demonstrate techniques, and build community.
Two of the artists she met through Clay Club joined her to start the One of a Kind Art Gallery in 2011. Two years later, Kari took full ownership, and for the next decade, her relentless drive, organizational mind, and creative force would serve her as she grew the OOAK Art Gallery into one of the premier destination galleries in the region.
Closing the gallery in 2023 was a bold and brave move. Kari knew that it was time for her to start something new. Soon it became clear that her experiences as an artist and business owner were unique and that she had a wealth of information and knowledge to offer emerging artists, gallery owners and managers.
Kari remained the owner of the building that housed her gallery. In September 2024, the building was severely damaged by flooding from Hurricane Helene, requiring extensive clean up and rehabilitation. She has had to navigate the physical, financial, and emotional realities of the recovery, to which there is no guide map. Her resiliency and persistence have informed her approach to writing about her creative life. Information about the building, its history, and the recovery can be found here.
Artful Compass exists to inform and guide, to entertain and enlighten. Kari’s intention is that her articles and insights smooth the path for those who wish to build and make a living from their creative lives.
