Karen Nickell was born in Belfast in 1959. On completing a degree in Psychology and a Post Graduate Certificate of Education, she taught part-time for a number of years while raising a family. During this time she developed her creative skills, winning a National Gold Medal of Excellence for Craft and Design.

After completing a foundation course in Art and Design in 2006, she enrolled at the University of Ulster to study Fine and Applied Art, graduating with first class honours in 2008, winning the Bank of Ireland Student Tordah Award first prize and the Art Society of Ulster Graduate Award.

Karen has combined her diverse interests and skills to develop an inter-disciplinary practice that questions any fixed reading of the work as textiles, painting, photography or sculpture.