About Michele Olsen

I have been an avid reader all my life. When I realized I could make my own books I immersed myself in courses with the North Redwoods Book Arts Guild, San Francisco Center for the Book, San Diego Book Arts Guild, Newport Paper and Book Arts Festivals, Focus on Book Arts and Oxbow’s Paper and Book Intensive. As a retired teacher it seemed natural to teach again but this time it was book arts – a real change from mathematics! Over time my books became more organic; I started using wood for covers, heavy linen threads for medieval sewn bindings, natural milk paints for the covers, and embellishments of stick, stones, and shells. I took several classes in watercolor, drawing, and printmaking and I loved them all. Eventually I felt a need to fill the journals rather than just make them.  But there was still the question of “What do I want to say?” Five days of workshops with the Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference 2020  gave me the answer; I knew I had found my area of interest and my inspiration was the natural world. The combination of art, writing, science, and investigation was an instant hit with this mathematician. I hope my website will inspire you to do the same.

I teach nature journaling and book arts workshops for Osher Life Long Learning Institute at Humboldt University.