Creative healing with Karen Olson

I’ve never felt more alive. I connected with nature in a way I never had before, and that experience deepened everything – my relationships, my artwork, my sense of self. It grounded me in a way that still hasn’t left.
- Karen Olson

Takeaways from this episode

• Nature is a collaborator, not just a subject.
  Karen’s art is guided by her relationship with nature – not just observing it, but listening to it. Through forest immersion and mindful noticing, she treats the natural world as an active participant in the creative process.
  
  
• Heart sense is a way of knowing.
  Beyond metaphor, Karen explores the heart as a perceptive organ – one that gathers and responds to sensory information even before the brain. Her images reflect this felt sense: layered, subtle and emotionally resonant.
  
  
• Art becomes healing when we let go of control.
  By allowing her materials to take the lead, Karen quiets the inner critic and opens to deeper truths. “Everything is an experiment,” she says. “The materials talk to me. When I listen, I make my best work.”
  
  
• Restoration can begin with small, sensory acts.
  Whether walking in the forest or noticing a dandelion in the pavement, Karen reminds us that reconnection doesn’t require wilderness – only presence. Even one hour in nature, she says, “can have a profound effect.”
  
  
• Creative flow isn’t accidental – it’s cultivated.
  In her course Focus and Flow, Karen shows how mindful practices, from photography to papermaking, can help artists move beyond overwhelm, reconnect with joy and create without restraint.

Explore the artwork from this episode below

During the interview, we shared some images of Karen’s artwork. Since you’re listening to the podcast version, we’ve made some images available for you below.

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