Palcho's Pottery- About Karen

Karen Palcho is the owner of two creative businesses, Karen’s Botanicals and Palcho’s Pottery, both located in Berks County, PA. Palcho’s Pottery has been operating in one form or another since 1980. Both endeavors are rooted in fascination with the alchemy of transforming earth based, raw materials into things useful and beautiful.

Karen studied ceramics, glass, and art education at Pennsylvania State University from 1978-1982. Upon graduation, she worked as a potter (and fisherman, taxi cab driver, cannery worker, and social worker) and taught ceramics at the community college in Kodiak, Alaska.

In 1985, she returned to Pennsylvania to work in the family screen printing business and to pursue a master’s degree in education at Kutztown University. In 1987 she began work as a full time public school art teacher at Wyomissing Area Junior-Senior High School. She designed curriculum and taught courses such as A Global Perspective on the Arts, A History of Western Art, Modern and Contemporary Art. After 17 wonderful years of teaching, Karen resigned in order to work full time on her businesses.

Karen has studied art in Guatemala, Mexico, and Luxembourg, and worked with potters in Nicaragua and in Ivory Coast. She has given presentations on her art, her travels, and curriculum design at numerous state and national conferences, and many local venues. She teaches at Kutztown University and is currently a teacher and consultant for the Goggleworks Center for the Arts in Reading, PA.