Join Waterfall Arts and Coastal Mountain Land Trust on Head of the Tide Trail in Belfast for an Artist Talk with exhibiting artist Karen Olson, during her solo exhibition The Embrace.
If we follow the trunk of a mother tree to the top, we immediately feel our connection to it. It speaks to us aesthetically in the way the vein-like branches and leaves reach upward and out. We see strength and fragility, a holding fast and a surrendering, much like our own human experience. Can the benefits of being immersed in the forest community teach us how to be fully present in our own wider community?
Maine artist Karen Olson will share the experience and process behind her latest project “The Embrace.” She will speak about how she interacts with the forest, engaging all the senses, allowing herself to become fully immersed and part of the conversation. Karen will offer prompts to express your own experience creatively and artistically.
Exhibition opening: June 3rd (link to event)
Artist Statement: I stand quietly in the midst of the trees, examining their texture, following the vein-like branches reaching upward and out. I imagine the network of communication and support beneath the surface and feel the effects of this far reaching community. They/we are interconnected.
In these years we have lost much in the way of human connectedness. Each decision to do so has been fraught with fear. As we imagine the days going forward can this human-nature relationship help us? Do the trees have something to teach? This work is an exploration of interconnectedness. It is a deep, intimate conversation, an embrace.