Thank you to Diane St. Clair of St. Clair Scents for contributing to the Odorbet! Diane’s evolution as a perfumer is nothing short of inspiring. The combination of her environment and her history of dairy farming and urban health care is the foundation for her inspired creative practice. Please enjoy this thoughtful reflection of her…
Today’s installation is the first provided by a perfume reviewer: Joseph Colbourne is known as Alphairone on Fragrantica, Colbourne on Basenotes, and has his own Youtube channel. Joseph shares his love of scent was kindled when he was a child smelling lily of the valley in his backyard. He also shared that he has studied…
Image: Left: A Prince Having Audience, 17th century Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; Height x width: 28.5 × 20.8 cm (11 1/4 × 8 3/16 in.); India, Credit Line: Denman Waldo Ross Collection, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Accession Number: 22.685 Right: Narcissus tazetta, grown and photographed by Nicolas Roth in his garden in…
Image of Horizons Olfactif exhibition courtesy François Talairach I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Sandra Barré curator of olfactory art and writer who just completed an ambitious olfactory art exhibition in France Horizons Olfactif (below!). There were over 40 olfactory art projects and artists featured in the exhibition that just closed March 18, 2023. Knowing fully…
Apologies to the powerful rodent that likely outnumbers the humans in Manhattan, but there is a case of rat smelling in the scent world. There are many people and practices doing unsavory things, and most will remain quietly existing forever as the rats do in the city. Much like rat sightings increasing 71% in the…
Chester Gibs is a multi-disciplinary artist born in The Netherlands and of Indonesian descent. Growing up he took note that his home smelled differently than others, and these unique notes have become one of the roots of his olfactory designs and artistic creations. Chester graduated from Gerrit Rietveld Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam in…
Creativity and innovation happen in relaxed and critical dialogue. Great ideas come to you in the shower, on a walk, or under the shade of an apple tree say. This earth day I am pleased to share a terrific insight from a good friend and colleague that came up last week when we were casually,…
What you put your attention on grows stronger. – anonymous Image artwork courtesy Catherine Haley Epstein Our minds are literal judgement factories, we create hundreds of thousands of judgments a day including a host of “good, “bad”, “safe”, “dangerous”, “great ,“horrible”, all in the name of self-preservation. Some of us realize due to serious introspection…
One of the more humbling features of human knowledge is the fact that despite our belief in progression, innovation and savvy, voices from 2,337 years ago often feel more relevant now than ever. Especially regarding the mysteries of being human, of consciousness and our sense that gives us the most pause: the olfactory. I dipped…
Photo: Courtesy of An Ode to Smell Project OLFACTORY MAPPING Definition: 1. (Science) Olfactory mapping is the chemical and physical process of how we interpret a large number of odor stimuli. 2. (Sociology/Art) Olfactory mapping is the process of matching coordinates of physical space(s) to a specific odor. In order to honor the natural smells…