Lake Geneva Art Studio grew out of a lifelong love of art, teaching, and helping people feel at home in their creativity.

My Story

Art has been part of my life since I was a little girl. Over the years, creativity became one of the ways I found my way through both joyful seasons and difficult ones. Even when life pulled me toward more practical work, art continued to feel like the truest part of who I am.

Entrepreneurship has also been a strong thread throughout my life. I have always enjoyed building ideas, creating opportunities, and turning something meaningful into a real experience for other people. My family encouraged both my creativity and my independence, and those influences have stayed with me.

I also spent many years teaching, training, and helping people approach unfamiliar things with confidence. That experience shapes the way I guide workshops today: offering thoughtful support when it is helpful, while giving each person the freedom to create at their own pace and make the artwork their own.

I believe there are many ways to express ourselves, and sometimes words are not the easiest one. Art gives us another language. It allows us to explore color, shape, texture, memory, and emotion in ways that can be deeply rewarding and fulfilling.

That is why I truly believe everyone is an artist. Everyone is capable of expressing something through the choices they make, even without having to put it into words. The joy comes from giving yourself the freedom to create and discovering that what you make can be beautiful simply because it came from you.

Lake Geneva Art Studio brings together my love of art, teaching, business, and entrepreneurship. It is a place where people can feel welcomed, capable, comfortable in their creativity, and free to express themselves through art.

A colorful stained glass art piece depicting a school of fish swimming around a coral reef, with green, blue, and orange hues, framed with wood and hanging in front of a window with trees outside.

Why I created this studio

I created Lake Geneva Art Studio because opening a creative space like this had been a dream of mine for many years. I reached a point in my life when I was finally able to bring that dream to life.

I wanted to create a welcoming place where people could slow down, explore their creativity, meet others, and enjoy doing something special for themselves. They would leave not only with something beautiful they had made, but also with a reminder that they had taken time to care for themselves.

Art has always been restorative for me, during difficult times and joyful ones. It has given me another way to express myself, especially when words were not enough. I have also seen what happens when people create together. They relax, laugh, become playful, and sometimes feel a little like children again.

For years, I shared that experience with friends, family, my children, and their friends. Creating this studio felt like a way to open that experience to more people.

Lake Geneva Art Studio is my way of creating more opportunities for people to slow down, connect, and discover the joy of making something beautiful.

Lake Geneva Art Studio is a warm, encouraging place where people can slow down, explore their creativity, connect with others, and enjoy the restorative joy of making something beautiful with their own hands.

Karen Whalen Original Art | Lake Geneva Art Studio | Glass-on-Glass Mosaic using cathedral glass, and set in an antique picture frame - scene of three sailboats on lake geneva while the sun is shining and the plants are happily growing beneath the su
Karen Whalen Original Art | Lake Geneva Art Studio | Stained glass artwork of an angel with outstretched wings, holding the earth, with a red circular halo, surrounded by green foliage.
Karen Whalen Original Art | A colorful illustration of an angel with pink and purple wings, flowing purple hair, and a flowing purple dress, holding the Earth with one hand and a glowing sun in the background, surrounded by radiant lines.
Karen Whalen Original Art | Lake Geneva Art Studio | Colorful stained glass window featuring flowers, leaves, and abstract patterns with gold, green, red, blue, and yellow hues.

“I want people to walk in feeling warmly welcomed and leave feeling proud, lighter, and a little like a happy kid again.”

Karen Whalen - Founder, Lake Geneva Art Studio