Raised during the 1950's by a Croatian family of folk artists, Karen Card spent her childhood building: wood, fabric, metal, and found objects were fashioned into sculptures for her family and friends.

As a young woman, Karen took courses at Foothill and Cabrillo Colleges, UCLA and San Jose State, completing her BA in Art History and completing a California Teaching Credential. Teaching elementary school and raising her two daughters were the focus of her early adulthood. She later began teaching art at New Brighton Middle School, working part time in order to give her the time needed to focus her considerable artistic skills on her sculptural pieces.

Participating in painting, drawing, and ceramic classes as well as her involvement with the Santa Cruz Artist Resource Team moved Karen toward her current body of work: life-sized body casts made of clay and fired in the ancient Japanese method of Raku. Experimenting with finishes and glazes whose painas sparkle and delight, Karen has produced sculptures of the human form that evoke favorable comparisons with works produced by the ancient masters.