From her childhood in Minot, Olson has lived a life immersed in creativity and has discovered there is art in cooking, music, and poetry — in living.
“All art is about connection, either with oneself or others,” she said.
An artist, photographer, and author, Olson first discovered photography as an art at the age of 23 while studying a drop of blood under the microscope. Ever since, she has been in love with creating beautiful imagery.
“With the right light and sensitive timing, a photograph can convey so much more that words every could,” she said. “It can move us to action, move us to tears, inspire us, and preserve our memories.”
Olson received her Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology from Minot State before pursuing her master’s degree in journalism from the University of Oregon.
During her 40-year career, Olson has worked in multiple genres of photography, including newspaper, magazine editorial, advertising, and fine art. As an educator, she has taught lighting and portraiture for more than 30 years at organizations such as Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle, Santa Fe Workshops, colleges, high schools, and conferences. Her commercial clients have included New York City Ballet, Seattle Symphony, and the Seattle Opera.
Olson’s images have garnered numerous awards and have been featured in Communication Arts, Photo District News, More Magazine, View Camera Magazine, and more. Her work was recently featured in Graphis Issue 362, an international magazine of the arts. Her fine art photography is represented by the Robin Rice Gallery in New York City and Iris Gallery in Boston.
