Description

Artist: Karen Olsen

Medium: Limited Edition Pigment Print, matted

Size:
Mat size – 16 x 20″, print size – 10.5 x 14.5″, $275
Mat size – 11 x 14″, print size – 7 x 9.5″, $180

Please contact us for larger size. office@gallerysitka.com

Description: Photography from series Wild Heart

Just as the pandemic was making its way across the country to the East coast, early spring arrived in Maine. Still grieving the loss of my husband, I was seeking refuge and companionship. In a climate of global pain, I was hoping to find a way to heal. Having read of the benefits of forest bathing (or immersion), I entered the forest with child-like curiosity and hope.

I felt it once before, there was something there, I could sense it. It was mystery, it was fragrance, it was atmosphere; something beyond the obvious. At every turn I stopped to breathe deeply and fully take in the scene, noticing textures and details, listening to the music of insects and birds. This multi-sensory encounter reached in and altered my thought patterns. The way I saw and experienced the world was changing, but how? I later discovered the science behind the forest atmosphere, especially in places that have been untouched for centuries.

Here there is a gift. And we only have to breathe it in to benefit. I became fully a part of this. Reaching out in return, my fingers slowly examined mosses, lichens, and bark, an important exercise in a world where touch has been censored. The forest transformed and healed me physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It has become my intimate companion and my guide.

Part of the Glimmer Show.