Since graduating from Edinburgh College of Art in 1993 with a degree in architectural glass, Karen Akester has continued working as an artist and glassmaker: in both a commercial environment and privately. While working with commercial glassmakers Akester learned techniques she had not previously used and worked in a highly pressured environment, which was hard work and stimulating. Due to the limited creative opportunities, Akester left after a year to develop her own work using other materials such as wood and clay. Karen Akester’s work has become very sculptural and quite narrative combining stories within illustration and her glass pieces and more recently through film and animation.