Karen Olson - Maine Lens-Based Artist
When trees converse, the air is charged with fragrances, hormones, and electrical exchanges. Placing myself in the middle of this conversation, I am illuminated by it. These experiences—shaped by hours spent walking the trails near my home in Midcoast Maine—form the foundation of my creative inquiry. I explore the intersection of human emotion and the natural world, investigating how our connection with nature supports mental health and interpersonal communication. My work is driven by a desire to understand both the scientific and the soulful dimensions of this relationship.
As a lens-based artist, papermaker, mentor, and educator, I weave together photography, handmade paper, and place-based practices to explore how perception is shaped through material engagement. Informed by my training as a forest therapy guide, my teaching emphasizes relationship with the landscape, resonance, and attunement—a shift from mastery toward dialogue, where making becomes a form of listening and the work emerges through sustained attention, presence, and reciprocity.
Through workshops, retreats, and online offerings, I extend this same approach to learning environments. I invite artists to slow down, work with care and curiosity, and cultivate practices rooted in observation, patience, and collaboration with materials. I support artists in developing a deeper trust in process—where making becomes a conversation, and where both the work and the maker are shaped by sustained attention, presence, and place.
Hello, I’m Karen
I live in Hope, Maine, a lovely little town just off the coast, an area we call ‘Midcoast’ which includes Camden, Rockport, and Rockland. It boasts beautiful coastal and woodland trails which I take full advantage of.
Mentoring sessions in photography, papermaking, paper sculpture and creativity are available on a per hour or per day basis, details available here.
I am always open for collaboration and interchange and am happy to answer your questions. Feel free to send me a note!
Karen@KarenOlsonPhotography.com
Watch the Friday Feature Artist interviews with Fibre Arts Take Two
Read the article, “Grief and Flow,” on Fibre Arts Take Two
Read the interview with Rfotofolio for the 2024 Portfolio Award.
Professional Associations
Web-Editor, Board Member, International Association of Hand Papermakers and Paper Artists
Cetified Forest Therapy Guide
Installations
Walkthrough and artist talk at Waterfalls Arts Solo Show “The Embrace.”
A Substack Newsletter and Community Space
www.stories.karenolsonphotography.com
Rivers Speak in Voltage
Bi-monthly reflections on art, nature
and the practice of resiliance
Walk with me—into the spaces where art and nature entwine, where the act of creating becomes a form of listening. Through stories, imagery, and quiet reflection, we’ll cultivate resilience, awareness, and a renewed sense of connection. Each post is an offering—part reflection, part artistry, part gentle guidance—designed to explore how the rhythms of the natural world can awaken and steady us, reminding us what it means to feel deeply alive in a complex time.
Join Our Community Space
Join me for monthly zoom meetups and video tutorials. Engage with fellow creatives and ask quesitons in the private chat.
