Check out our new prices here!

Check out new videos I'm featured in here and here!

You can purchase my art at the Art Dock in the Dewitt sites building in Canal Park, Duluth, Minnesota.

Feel free to contact me at toddolson(at)mac.com.

I made the cover of the Duluth Reader, pictured to the right. The art was a collaboration of work done by Todd Olson, Bruce Woodman, and Hippie Dick from Duluth.

Below that is a picture of 1011 peace cranes which we finished in March. They were folded from a combination of cherry blossoms, origami paper and Japanese printed designed papers. (The 11 extra mosaic foil gold birds are a symbol of good luck and prosperity for the owners and if you look carefully, you will see that the last crane is made from mosaic red).

How do you feel about life as a whole? Do you cherish each and every moment in life? Most people don’t ever think that they could lose it all. I would like to share experiences in my life that opened my eyes and made me cherish each moment of my life.

In December of 1989, when I was 10, my sight began to disappear. Playing games on the computer was my favorite pastime. All of a sudden it was really hard for me to keep up with the speed of games. I found myself only a few inches from the computer screen.

My parents knew there was something wrong, and so they took me in to an eye specialist. He said I had optic nerve damage. An MRI confirmed that I had a brain tumor growing between my optic nerve and pituitary gland. The tumor showed up on the computer after I was injected with a dye to enhance abnormal cells. I had five doctors helping in my treatment.

Located in the middle of my head, the tumor was inoperable. We decided to treat it with radiation first and see how it would react to treatment. Luckily for me, it soon shrank. I went through 29 radiation treatments with many blood tests in between treatments. This was necessary to check my white blood cell count because radiation kills good cells besides the bad. The worst part was the side effects of the treatment; sickness. It is like having a bad flu. Your energy level drops to nearly nothing. I lost a lot of weight because I couldn’t keep most foods down. I felt really sick most of the time. It took three months to get through treatment, but it seemed to go on forever.

Sometimes I felt sick, like there was a fire inside of me. The worst experience was when my hair fell out. I was only in fourth grade. I didn’t know how the other kids in my class would react to it. Would they laugh at me? My teacher let my wear a hat. One day at recess while I was playing the cap blew off. It wasn’t bad at all. The kids didn’t seem to mind. My teacher saw it happen. When everyone was back inside she explained to the kids why I was bald. This made me feel better, and I even stopped wearing the cap around school. But I did wear it outside so my head wouldn’t get sunburned.

Since then I have also had a thyroidectomy when I found I had thyroid cancer. This was caused by my radiation as a little kid years ago. This was unexpected so it has been a difficult year. I have also had another brain tumor surgically removed. This tumor was not detected till I had a seizure occur.

In 2001 I graduated from UW Stout and my major was Vocational Rehabilitation; it took me an extra year because of the previous health disorders. My second year in, I decided I didn’t want to be one of those jokes behind the computer so I chose Independent Living as a major. After I graduated, I found a job at Drummond High School with a student that had cerebral palsy.

I taught 5 years in Special Education and that is when my seizure disorder started and I fainted in Ms. Berwager’s classroom. I was life flighted to Saint Mary’s Hospital in Duluth, MN. Shortly thereafter, I looked for an apartment here in Duluth. I have been living here for about 15 years.

In 2008, I met Terri Spencer at Pineapple Art Center as we were both volunteers there. I started teaching her origami when we first met in 2008. I have been growing my business since then. Terri and I have continued to sell our work throughout the community.

In May of 2016, I had a stroke in the middle of the night. I woke up that morning and I could not walk correctly and I slurred my speech. Terri found me that morning and called an ambulance for me. Todd first got stabilized in Duluth, but I then went down to Minneapolis to Fairview Hospital to see a Dr. Tummala, a nureosurgan. A group of blood vessels burst and that is what caused the stroke. He removed that tumor.

One year later, I had another group of blood vessels and he did surgery on that.

Two and a half years ago, I went to Vinland Treatment Center near St. Cloud, MN. For my alcoholism. Three days before I graduated, we had gotten a hand full of sage. Eric took his pocket knife and he opened a cigarette and we each had tobacco in our hands and we gave thanks to Mother Earth in four different directions. Eric lit the sage up and when it was my turn, he blessed us with the sage (it is quite a feeling to breathe in that sage and exhale). I felt tingling from the bottom of my feet to the top of my head. All of the anxiety, depression and mental health issues had been relieved. It was a great feeling!

Two days later, I was supposed to graduate the following Monday, but I had stomach pain next to my belly button. They called an ambulance and I went to North Memorial Medical Center. I had surgery taking 11 inches out of my lower bowel with a spiky purple and pink headed monster removed from my lower bowel.

My parents and I were told that it was cancerous, but then a doctor walked into the room and he says to me “Mr. Olson, we found the tumor was benign.” What a relief for my family and I.

About 3 years ago, I was sent to downtown Vinland for my addiction to Alcohol (there was fighting going on with my parents and just never mind). Anyway, I spent one month and 25 days or so down there.

Three days before I’d graduate, I’d gotten a hold of a small Cup of Sage (so in was hanging 3-4 inches above the cup). Anyway, there were 3 of us: Eric, myself, & one other gentlemen. So, he used his pocket knife to slice open one of his cigarettes, so we all had a handful of tobacco in our hands. So first we all went in different directions. So I went to a small Oak Tree. And I actually snuck in some Cannabis so I’d given an old tree that as well with some tobacco leaves. Also, the Four Different directions. Eric did the other Guy first & I patiently waited until it was my turn. Then it was my turn. As I breathed in the Sage, I had this tingling feeling. I felt this: feeling I’m acually getting this feeling again while I’m typing this out to y'all again. Today I just shared it with my Dad First. Then I shared it with my Mom as well. So I am Happy as a Clam Right Now All the Stress is Gone like a Kite as Well. It just feels so good everyone, (ooo I’m Feeling that Shivering Feeling all over again as I’m typing to y'all , yup; we got it. I've got a bit of Red Neck cutcture on me too. I did hear this song played called “The 30 Point Buck”).

All of my health issues are under control and I have God and my family to thank for it.

Todd was featured on KBJR NBC News, which you can find here.