Bound by Nature
Special Guest Textile Exhibition of works by Kimber Olson
January 21-February18, 2018

Mutuality abounds in woodland environment. It also explains why an exhibition of textiles in a venue that specializes in wood art may not be as unlikely a prospect as it seems. The American Association of Woodturners’ Gallery of Wood Art will host an exhibition of wool sculptures that are premised on mutuality, a type of symbiotic relationship where two distinct species work cooperatively, to the benefit of both.

Olson’s textiles reference organisms like lichens, mycorrhizal root networks and other life forms essential to trees and forests.

Artist and educator Kimber Olson combines traditional and contemporary handcrafts to create mixed media fiber art. Her work engages audiences through color, texture and pattern that evoke rhythms and flux of the natural world.  

Olson’s art has been exhibited locally, regionally and nationally since 2000. Her art and innovative arts programming have been supported by grants from Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and the Jerome Foundation. 

Olson has a specific interest in the intersections of creativity and spirit. In 2010 she received an MA degree in Theology and the Arts from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. She holds a BA degree in written communication from St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minn.

Olson has taught in schools, art centers and other settings for more than a decade. In 2013 she was a fellow in Intermedia Arts’ Creative Community Leadership Institute. From 2014 through 2017 she was affiliated with St. Paul-based COMPAS as a teaching artist, where she shared her passion for textile arts with arts learners through workshops and residencies.