From a very young age I knew I wanted to be creative.
I grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, a highly creative place, where everyone knew me only as Karen Stefaniak. Of course no one ever wanted to hear their full name uttered, because, well, everyone knows what that means.
I have no idea why I was named Karen Dale, but my mother must have had her reasons, which she never shared with me, and I never thought to ask until it was too late. To this day, the backstory of why I was given the name Karen Dale remains a mystery to me.
Stefaniak is a Polish name, and I come from strong Polish stock on both sides of my family.
Well, okay, Polish, Russian and German, depending on who was occupying the territory my ancestors were living in at the time. I'm only the second generation of my family born in the United States, and I grew up with the strong work ethic of the "old country".
By the age of ten I realized that I enjoyed viewing things from different perspectives and that a camera felt very good in my hands. I wasn't much of an artist, however. I couldn't draw or paint, yet I tried to create a comic strip when I was in elementary school. I also enjoyed writing and creating plays that I would record on my reel-to-reel tape recorder.
Even though I grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, ironically, I have never owned a Ford.
I grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, a highly creative place, where everyone knew me only as Karen Stefaniak. Of course no one ever wanted to hear their full name uttered, because, well, everyone knows what that means.
I have no idea why I was named Karen Dale, but my mother must have had her reasons, which she never shared with me, and I never thought to ask until it was too late. To this day, the backstory of why I was given the name Karen Dale remains a mystery to me.
Stefaniak is a Polish name, and I come from strong Polish stock on both sides of my family.
Well, okay, Polish, Russian and German, depending on who was occupying the territory my ancestors were living in at the time. I'm only the second generation of my family born in the United States, and I grew up with the strong work ethic of the "old country".
By the age of ten I realized that I enjoyed viewing things from different perspectives and that a camera felt very good in my hands. I wasn't much of an artist, however. I couldn't draw or paint, yet I tried to create a comic strip when I was in elementary school. I also enjoyed writing and creating plays that I would record on my reel-to-reel tape recorder.
Even though I grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, ironically, I have never owned a Ford.
When it was time to go to college...
I put my camera in my little MGB and traveled across the mitten state to attend a college of art and design in Grand Rapids. I've always been interested in segmenting space and initially thought my major would be Interior Design. After Foundation classes when a major had to be declared, I switched my major.
My camera and I felt more comfortable in the classrooms of another department, whereas the Interior Design Department felt too much like the prim and proper life that I left back in Dearborn. Always seeking a new adventure, I declared my major in Advertising, which probably had my mother rolling in her grave, and a few nuns I knew shaking their heads.
But my camera and I felt much more at home in the Advertising Department.
For a while.
Even before graduation, but especially after, I knew that a long-term career in Advertising wasn't meant to be. Because, while the Advertising Department felt comfortable in college, the world of Advertising didn't feel comfortable in the real world.
Let's just say the nuns won.
After obtaining my Bachelor's Degree, I worked in a variety of fields, taught many an art class, and worked in the creative departments of large and small corporations. I greatly enjoyed working as a technical illustrator for an aerospace company, an artist/designer for a resort-wear manufacturer, and a production artist for a medical benefits corporation.
I put my camera in my little MGB and traveled across the mitten state to attend a college of art and design in Grand Rapids. I've always been interested in segmenting space and initially thought my major would be Interior Design. After Foundation classes when a major had to be declared, I switched my major.
My camera and I felt more comfortable in the classrooms of another department, whereas the Interior Design Department felt too much like the prim and proper life that I left back in Dearborn. Always seeking a new adventure, I declared my major in Advertising, which probably had my mother rolling in her grave, and a few nuns I knew shaking their heads.
But my camera and I felt much more at home in the Advertising Department.
For a while.
Even before graduation, but especially after, I knew that a long-term career in Advertising wasn't meant to be. Because, while the Advertising Department felt comfortable in college, the world of Advertising didn't feel comfortable in the real world.
Let's just say the nuns won.
After obtaining my Bachelor's Degree, I worked in a variety of fields, taught many an art class, and worked in the creative departments of large and small corporations. I greatly enjoyed working as a technical illustrator for an aerospace company, an artist/designer for a resort-wear manufacturer, and a production artist for a medical benefits corporation.
Before I fast-forward to present day...
I will finish up this backstory by saying that when I was about ten years old I sat on the square of concrete that was the front porch of my childhood home and came up with several big dreams for myself. By the way, it was the porch of the very same house where I saw my first apparition. And yes, it was the first of many encounters with the paranormal, which is exactly why I chose that genre for my novels.
So back we go to the porch and my dreams and my big dream "to-do" list.
On that list I wrote that I wanted to be creative, I wanted to travel the world, and I wanted to own land. A lot of land.
Here's where we hit the fast-forward button...
By the end of my 50th year, all my big dreams had come true.
I had the privilege of traveling to many continents and countries, flying first-class on 747's, before I turned twenty-one years of age. I was even able to circumnavigate the globe by the ripe old age of seventeen, thanks be to Dad.
When I was younger, knowing I didn't have much natural talent in the way of drawing or painting, I thought it would take me a million years to be an artist or designer. So after what seemed to take a million and two years, I can now say I am an accomplished artist, designer, photographer and published author. I hope to someday add, "tv series creator" to that list.
And last, but not least, my husband and I own the ranch land of my dreams.
Forty-eight acres out in the middle of glorious nowhere!
You may have run into a quote by me on the internet of how this all happened.
"Everything has a way of coming full circle. It takes patience and especially perseverance to see a dream through...to close that circle. Because, some dreams, like some circles can be much bigger than others."
In other words, I never gave up, and I am very thankful to everyone who helped me to achieve my goals, to allow me to take the road less traveled. I know I most certainly did not do it all alone. I just believed that I could, and would, someday, accomplish my goals, and apparently that was good enough for "them" and for me.
From a very young age I knew I wanted to be creative. Welcome to my world.
I will finish up this backstory by saying that when I was about ten years old I sat on the square of concrete that was the front porch of my childhood home and came up with several big dreams for myself. By the way, it was the porch of the very same house where I saw my first apparition. And yes, it was the first of many encounters with the paranormal, which is exactly why I chose that genre for my novels.
So back we go to the porch and my dreams and my big dream "to-do" list.
On that list I wrote that I wanted to be creative, I wanted to travel the world, and I wanted to own land. A lot of land.
Here's where we hit the fast-forward button...
By the end of my 50th year, all my big dreams had come true.
I had the privilege of traveling to many continents and countries, flying first-class on 747's, before I turned twenty-one years of age. I was even able to circumnavigate the globe by the ripe old age of seventeen, thanks be to Dad.
When I was younger, knowing I didn't have much natural talent in the way of drawing or painting, I thought it would take me a million years to be an artist or designer. So after what seemed to take a million and two years, I can now say I am an accomplished artist, designer, photographer and published author. I hope to someday add, "tv series creator" to that list.
And last, but not least, my husband and I own the ranch land of my dreams.
Forty-eight acres out in the middle of glorious nowhere!
You may have run into a quote by me on the internet of how this all happened.
"Everything has a way of coming full circle. It takes patience and especially perseverance to see a dream through...to close that circle. Because, some dreams, like some circles can be much bigger than others."
In other words, I never gave up, and I am very thankful to everyone who helped me to achieve my goals, to allow me to take the road less traveled. I know I most certainly did not do it all alone. I just believed that I could, and would, someday, accomplish my goals, and apparently that was good enough for "them" and for me.
From a very young age I knew I wanted to be creative. Welcome to my world.