🌿 About Karen Hansen-Daniels

Clan Anderson; Clan Wilson; Clan MacDonald

Tainui / Ngati Wairere

Ever since I was a child, I have been drawn to sacred spaces—wahi tapu—both in the outer landscape and the hidden worlds within.
I see the sacred in places and things most never think to look at: the dance of dust motes in sunlight, the prayerful curve of mist, the shimmer of rainbow light on morning dew.
This way of seeing has never left me.

I have deep generational roots in Rotorua, and continue to visit the same beloved places I knew as a child—sitting in meditation by the Mangakakahi Stream, gathering with Rimu and Totara, Kawakawa, Koromiko, and the many beings of tree, river, bird, and stone who have become my teachers and friends.

Over time, I discovered that sacred spaces could also be created within: through reverent experiences, creative ritual, and art that touches the soul.
It is my life's work to deepen my collaboration with Nature, to co-create new forms of wahi tapu—artworks and experiences that awaken remembrance, connection, and our true creative power.

My work is rooted in cross-cultural sacred traditions—drawing from Mātauranga Māori's whakapapa to whenua (ancestral lineage to land) and the animistic traditions of the Celtic  peoples.
I believe that now, more than ever, we are called to remember the old ways: where nature was not separate from spirit, and where wholeness was holy.

I create using natural earth and botanical pigments, in collaboration with upcycled, repurposed and mixed media elements; wild-gathered waters, sacred writings, cast forms from my environment, and feathers found on the land.
Each piece emerges from a living relationship with Nature Beings and the earth herself.

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🌸 My Journey

Coming from humble beginnings as a teenage busker—singing with my three young children on the streets of Rotorua—I dedicated my life to rising out of hardship through creativity.
Today, I stand as a successful businesswoman, respected makeup and body artist (founder of Artful Addiction )  creative mentor, homeowner, and emerging fine artist.

In 2021, I double-graduated from Toi Ohomai's Bachelor of Creative Technologies (Art & Materials Major under Kereama Taepa and Jane Matua) and a Graduate Diploma in Leadership and Professional Mentoring.

Later that year, my husband and I were married in a Celtic/Māori fusion ceremony deep within the Okataina Ngahere, where dawn-to-midnight communion with the forest further deepened my connection to the land—and to the sacred balance of masculine and feminine forces within ourselves and the universe.

This journey continues to inspire my work as an Art Alchemist:
to give voice to the poetry of nature, to honor the living spirit in all things, and to create works that empower others to reconnect with their own inner light.

With a background in large project production, participatory art, mixed media assemblage, entertainment, and fashion, I weave all strands of experience into my creative offerings today.

It is one of my deepest dreams to establish a foundation that complements my artistic services—empowering others, especially those in difficult life spaces, to find their own creative alchemy and transformation.