Kenneth “Kenny” Carder passed away in his home in Vilas, North Carolina, on September 24 at the age of 70, following complications from Parkinson’s disease.
Kenny was born in 1955 in Delphos, Ohio. He grew up on 5th Street next to the railroad tracks with his loving parents, Bud and Clara Carder, and older brothers “the twins” Jim and Jerry. Kenny was a true Ohio boy who cherished his childhood. He always spoke with joy and pride of his many days spent fishing, drawing, listening to music, and laughing with his dear friends. After graduating high school, he attended Bowling Green State University to study fine arts, majoring in drawing and sculpture.
In his adult life whenever Kenny was able to visit his home and family in Ohio, he spent much time with his parents, his brothers, and their families, time that he cherished beyond measure.
In the summer of 1981, Kenny moved to Western North Carolina to work as an apprentice to glass artists Katherine and William Bernstein, who he continued to learn from closely for many years. That fall, he started working as a studio assistant to Harvey K. Littleton. In 1984, Kenny was chosen as an Artist in Residence at the Penland School of Craft. For Kenny, joining the Penland community meant not just a thickening of his personal relationship to the art strata, but a true fusing into a deep, loving, local family of musicians, neighbors, and friends. Playing and experiencing music was akin to making art for Kenny, and he held those times so dear.
After his time as a resident, he built and began running his own glass studio full-time in Bakersville, NC.
In 1990, he moved to Collinsville CT, with his love and fellow artist, Lisa Stinson. There, he continued to invest his time into making, and into the community of artists and friends they grew to be a part of. In 1997 the couple moved back to their home and studios in Bakersville, and back to their Penland community.
Kenny and Lisa married in 1998 and one year later welcomed their only child, Emma Carder, into their wonderful world.
Kenny, Lisa, and Emma moved to their current home in Vilas in 2004, where he built his final studio and continued his work there until his passing.
Kenny’s professional career was built on investigation and innovation.
He used the optics and refraction of glass to provide his interpretation of portraiture and form. His work went beyond glasswork and drawing to include many collaborative ceramics with his wife Lisa, digital media, wood sculpture, and visual storytelling. Across all mediums, he saw potential in form and figure and used them as capable containers for his imagery.
Throughout his career, he exhibited numerous times both nationally and internationally. His work is found in many public museums as well as countless public and private collections across North America and Europe.
Kenny’s family was by far his most valued treasure and the greatest work of art in his life. Kenny Carder and Lisa Stinson were not only life partners but true soulmates. Their daughter Emma is his pride and joy and the center of his universe. The true love of being a father was boundless and unwavering, a bit worrisome, but always remained endlessly beautiful. Kenny and Emma shared their curiosity, love of music, connection to nature, and their need to create, through all ages and distances, and will continue to do so.
Kenny was curious, funny, kind, focused, and ever increasingly compassionate. He held an innate love of life, music, and art, which he shared freely with all of those around him. He gathered a boundless number of friends who shared his vibrant light and sincerity in life. Kenny Carder was truly one of a kind, and his laugh and dancing will be endlessly missed. His deep love, bright light, magnificent art, and cherished memory will be held so dear by all for the rest of time.
He is survived by his wife, Lisa Stinson, and daughter, Emma Carder; his brother, Jerry (Diana); his niece, Ali Fritz (Jeremy) and their sons, Carter and Cayden; his nephew, Ryan Carder (Sarah) and their children, Olivia and Jacob; his niece, Kara Bussard (Tom) and their sons, Tommy and Tyler; his nephew, Matt Carder (Sue) and his son, Josh; and his niece, Jodi Carder and her son, Jesse.
Online condolences may be shared at the website www.austinandbarnesfuneralhome.com
Austin & Barnes Funeral Home and Crematory is serving the Carder family.
