From the time Kara Brook could walk and talk, there was no question what her passion was. Graduating from crayons to charcoal to paint, her talent as an artist and commitment to that passion was laser-focused participating in every possible art program outside of school from a young age.

When Kara's father passed away, she dropped out of high school and enrolled in community college. That year, she took her portfolio to the Maryland College Institute of Art, was accepted, and transferred at age 17. The College granted a MICA scholarship and information on other places to apply for more aid. She was awarded multiple scholarships.

At age 34, Kara established an endowed scholarship in her father’s name to give a helping hand to current students at her alma mater. She did it in part to honor her father’s memory, but really wanted to help other students like her. To date, the endowment is more than $150,000 and over 30 scholarships have been awarded over the last 20 years.

Today, Kara is thriving in her latest entrepreneurial venture, Bee Inspired, and balances her time at the Chesapeake Bay farm with her time in her studio pursuing encaustic projects.

EDUCATION

1986 Maryland Institute, College Of Art, BFA, Visual Communications Baltimore, Maryland

WORK EXPERIENCE

2010 - Present

Kara Brook Art | New York, New York | www.waxingkara.com

While growing her award-winning graphic design company, Kara managed to occasionally escape to visit art shows and art collections across the U.S. and Europe, keeping her love of fine art alive. Since closing her company in 2010, she has trained, focused, and immersed herself in the art of encaustic painting. Her work tells whimsical stories about her friends, family, and experiences.

1987 – 2009

BROOK GROUP, LTD. | Ellicott City, Maryland

What started as a one-woman shop offering logo design grew to become a 50-person, strategic Web marketing firm with national clients like AOL, the Justice Department, the White House, and Halo Pets.

Kara led her creative team to design, develop and promote web sites for a broad range of commercial and non-profit clients including: America Online, Ameritrade, Clear Channel, Halo Pets, KPMG Corporate Finance, US Department of Energy, US Department of Justice, US White House, and VeriSign.

Career Highlights and Accomplishments:

Became the first AOL Affiliate Studio in the nation.

Developed “The Brand of Justice” – the first government agency to embrace the concept of brand online, in the federal government in the late 1990s.

Identified a need for web content management in the late 1990s and invented an award-winning Content Management Software used by the federal government and non-profit organizations for 10 years.

Worked for the Bush Administration on special web projects that measured government performance and put a face on his EGov initiative.

Created the online brand for Halo Pets, including all web technology integration, internet marketing strategies and social marketing

Won many industry awards and was Brook Group Designs were published in several books showcasing outstanding graphic identities

Created scholarship foundation, The Reuben Brook Scholarship, at MICA that awards two deserving digital arts students scholarship each year since 2000

Donated services to non-profits each year including Teen Suicide Prevention, Special Olympics, House of Ruth Maryland, and Vision Workshops.

Taught classes in visual communications, interface design, user experience design and search engine optimization at MICA and Purdue University

Rehabilitated two historic properties on Main Street in Ellicott City to house her businesses.