'In the Presence of Process'

A student exhibition emerging from the 2026 course Focus and Flow with Karen Olson. This collection brings together works shaped by curiosity and a genuine willingness to follow enquiry without predetermined outcomes. Experiments, fragments, and studies sit alongside fully realised pieces – each given equal standing as a meaningful expression of process at work.

Throughout the course, students gathered from the landscape, tested unfamiliar materials, and allowed their practice to shift and develop in real time. Process was not incidental to the work; it was the subject. In the latest exhibition from Focus and Flow, 'In the Presence of Process', making is understood as a form of thinking – alive with risk, discovery, and the particular energy of not yet knowing where something will lead.

Student exhibition: Focus & Flow with Karen Olson

"Welcome, dear friends, to 'In the Presence of Process', an exhibition shaped not only by finished works, but by the experience of making, exploring, and discovering along the way.

I am delighted to share this exhibition with you, a collection of works created by Focus and Flow students. The course touches on topics ranging from forest bathing to photography, papermaking to paper sculpture. Each student engaged with the material in a way that felt meaningful to them, many choosing to focus deeply on one particular aspect of the course.

During our time together, we entered into conversation with the landscape and discovered a sense of intimacy, attention, and companionship within it. This relationship became the foundation for experimentation and discovery. Students gathered fibers from their immediate surroundings and made paper for the first time, experimenting with texture, translucency, and form. Many re-engaged with a love of photography and made books documenting their forest bathing experiences.

Students learned to listen more closely to their inner dialogue, allowing intuition to guide the process. What emerged was not a singular aesthetic or fixed outcome, but something far more meaningful: a field of inquiry alive with attention, sensitivity, risk, and play.

Again and again, I witnessed students choosing curiosity, following threads without fully knowing where they would lead. They listened closely to what the work itself seemed to ask of them. In doing so, they revealed something essential about the creative process: that making is not simply an act of control, but a relationship with uncertainty, responsiveness, and change.

This exhibition honors that relationship.

The works gathered here include fragments, experiments, studies, sculptural forms, books, prints, and deeply personal explorations. Some pieces feel quiet and contemplative; others pulse with energy and transformation. Together, they remind us that process is not merely the path toward an outcome, but a living presence capable of shaping us as we move through it.

As you engage with this exhibition, I invite you to notice not only what was made, but how it feels to encounter work created in a spirit of openness and exploration. Look closely at the textures, gestures, and traces of experimentation still visible on the surface.

It has been an immense privilege to witness this unfolding. I could not be more inspired by the courage and generosity these artists have brought to the process of making."

– Karen Olson

Would you like a printed copy of this Exhibition book?

Click the button below to purchase the online student exhibition as a printed book. Please note that Peecho (provider of the printed book) is a third party book printing company and we have no control over the postage costs to your destination.

COMING SOON