Karen Rubado is an Auckland artist who is interested in the aggregation and transformation of found materials through hand-making. Her enthusiasm lies in the connections between intention and action, the real and imagined, and the imperfection that often characterises the handmade. Inspired by techniques of extemporising within a structure, her weaving practice encourages the unexpected and allows for spontaneity as a catalyst for discovery. She sees this as a subtle form of opposition to the authorial powers of tradition and the expectations emanating from both craft and contemporary art conventions.