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.
I live in Hope, Maine (US) and am open to artist collaborations, teaching requests, and connection. My expertise includes photography, papermaking, and paper sculpture.
Follow my artist journey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenolson.photography/
In person and online mentoring sessions in technology, photography, and paper sculpture available:
https://www.karenolsonphotography.com/mentoring-sessions
karen@karenolsonphotography.com
