class proposals

As a result of working with someone dealing with Alzheimer's I have decided to explore the possibility of designing an "Art Play" program for seniors  and people in the very early stages of Alzheimer's and various forms of dementia. My previous experience working in LVAA classes with seniors (as well as a large number of elementary and middle school faculty members in professional development workshops) taught me that there is some sort of emotional pleasure factor associated with the simple familiar childhood act of coloring with crayons. I assume the trigger for this is purely muscle memory. My observations regarding the time it takes to positively impact someone ranges from 3-8 minutes. Even the most reluctant participant begins to relax and then actually smile within a very few minutes. After that there is noticeably more chatter and animation in the room as people begin to recognize that what they are enjoying is actually play. The collective mood is elevated and remains so for as long as the exercise lasts.

This project is not to be considered as Art Therapy. I am not a certified Art therapist. I have no interest in striving for or achieving traditional therapeutic goals. My goal in designing creative art play is to reignite some aspect of the child who lives within each of us, no matter what our current chronological age. Participants must retain effective comprehension and verbal skills and must not present with behavior that is agitated or aggressive. Most elements of basic social cognition need to be in tact in order to participate in simple but necessary directions regarding the use of scissors and glue sticks for cut and paste projects, paint brushes for working with watercolor crayons, enough fine motor control to use a marker for outlining or pattern creation or writing simple words needed in the context of a project. The project is designed to reach minds that have begun to lose touch with select details and simple memory elements, not people whose former personalities have already evaporated into disease and regular confusion.

This should probably be run first as a pilot project consisting of 4-6 sessions, 75-90 minutes each either during mid-morning or after lunch. Class would be limited to 8 participants (with a minimum of 2 bringing an assistant or caregiver). Initially I would like participants to be recommended by gerontology specialists, residential caregiver staff who know proposed participants and family members whose loved ones are still able to function with some efficiency while living at home. However, I would be more than willing to run this identical program for seniors over age 60 and bypass the obvious medical aspects that will arise with the previously targeted group. program.

If the decision were made to continue (and possibly expand) the program funds would need to be raised for materials as well as administrative and teaching costs. Initially I am willing to donate materials I have available from prior teaching for use in this pilot program. My initial compensation would be figured at $120 per session, which would include setup and cleanup time with materials donated. I would want to collaborate with the hosting 501 C3 institution in having them initially determine reasonable costs, handle program promotion, registration and collect funds.

biographical information

Susan  Gorsen is an artist from Louisville, Kentucky who has been exhibiting vividly colored abstract drawings for nearly 3 decades. She has been described as “a person in love with color”. Her work is in numerous public, private and corporate collections throughout America, including Subaru Corp, Blue Cross of PA. Glaxo Smith Kline, Atlanta Kaiser Permanente, Louisville Presbyterian Seminary, Jewish Hospital Heart and Lung Center, National City Bank, Brown-Forman Corp, Louisville Gas & Electric Co., and U of Kentucky Medical Associates. Working mainly with oil pastel crayons, she has had 16 solo shows in the United States, as well as international group exhibitions in Germany, Ecuador, Ireland and Northern Ireland. The GreenGrass/Bluegrass/NewGrass exhibition with Maura O’Rourke at Ardgillan Castle in July-August 1999 introduced Ms. Gorsen’s work to an Irish audience. This exhibition developed as part of a cultural exchange Ms. Gorsen founded for mid-career visual artists from Ireland and Kentucky, the realization of a dream inspired by her first visit to Ireland in 1968.

Ms. Gorsen is a longtime arts activist, serving for more than a decade on the Louisville Mayor’s Committee for Public Art and Amenities, as well as the Executive Board of the Louisville Visual Art Association. Earlier in her career, while living in Philadelphia, she was a creative consultant for interiors and fine art in addition to being a columnist, arts writer and critic for the respected monthly publication ARTMATTERS.  She has also studied and lectured on the psychology of color and its impact on health, well being and mental productivity. Ms. Gorsen worked as an Artist in Residence with the Louisville public school system designing visual arts programs that address the special needs of children at risk, as well as programming specific lessons that use art projects to teach core academic subjects. Ms. Gorsen also gives creativity workshops for educational administrators, teachers and corporate executives. She runs special programs that aim to combat teen violence and poor self-esteem through collaborative art projects which often involve young people initiating or aiding in the creation of her own work.

After a successful 1999 summer workshop, she brought her youth arts program back to Belfast, Northern Ireland for 3 weeks in 2000 as an Artist in Residence for the Castlereagh Borough Council working in municipal community centers with children on both sides of the political conflict there. Ms. Gorsen returned to Belfast in July 2001 to collaborate with local artists Ian Fleming and Deirdre Robb on an environmental sculpture project funded by a United Kingdom/Northern Irish Arts Council Millennium Year of the Artist Grant. In April 2002, she coordinated Spring Grasses, a weeklong collaboration involving a dozen Irish and local artists working in Louisville with talented teens in an open studio format. This was followed in July of that year by a similar project, Links that Connect Us, created at Castlereagh College and exhibited at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall. Spring Grasses II in May 2005 brought together 15 artists for a 12 day retreat at Mount Saint Francis in Southern Indiana which produced DOUBLRSPEAK, the politically themed exhibition about English/American language and cultural differences.  

Ms. Gorsen’s most recent solo exhibition Irish Postcards in January 2005 marked a significant stylistic and thematic departure for the artist. This  romantic body of work consists of hand colored digitally enlarged oil pastel drawings of her own photographs taken during numerous trips to Ireland. Color itself remains the common thread linking this precision realism with her more familiar abstract drawings.

By 2004 degenerative osteo-arthritis in both shoulders had made it impossible for Ms. Gorsen to continue her quarter century studio practice. After having bi-lateral shoulder replacement surgeries in 2007 she slowly returned to the studio determined to resume both her abstract colorfield work as well as continuing with the Irish Postcards series. As of April 2009 she was back working fulltime in her studio. Her next exhibition, opening late October 2010, will be at the Carnegie Center for Art and History in New Albany, IN.

The theme for this solo exhibition is a rising phoenix. The show will feature older work  from her long career as well as numerous new pieces.

Ultimately the painterly oil pastel drawings themselves provide the best insight for Susan Gorsen the person. They are large deceptively complex poetic compositions, dominated by deep jewel tones and a rainbow of colors fused together in a distinctive textured style, punctuated by broad sweeping calligraphic gestures and subtle wispy markings that form a visual language uniquely her own. The drawings resemble music portrayed with colors instead of sound, a series of endlessly varying improvisations which share a visual identity of color relationships, mysterious personal imagery and a kinship of spirit. The work adheres to the credo written on the wall in Ms. Gorsen’s studio - be a catalyst for optimism.

where are the buyers?

Pricing work for an exhibition is a tricky thing when one isn't currently respresented by multiple galleries around the country. Under those circumstnces, prices are already pretty much set in stone. In preparing for the Carnegie show I asked a number of artists, friends and family members what I should do about prices since my last exhibition of similar work was Nov-Dec 2001. That time period was a high water mark for art prices among journeymen artists. Times have changed, the art market has changed and discretionary money has all but evaporated. Everybody told me to price the work as giveaways. I listened and agreed. I made the decision to price my work, both new and old, as low as possible. I wish the buying public had a better understanding of what it costs an artist to produce a new piece of work. There are materials and actual studio time of course. But there is so much more...... the thinking and evalutaion time, the conceptual time, the creative day dreaming time, the editorial assessment, the search for an appropriate title, getting pieces photographed and framed, packing and shipping costs as well as making arrangements for delivery and installation. I am beyond being frustrated by having sold only 2 pieces from the show despite lots of excellent publicity during its long run and the fact that the most expensive new work is only $900. The same work in 2001 would have been at least twice that price. Despite this dire economy one would think that with such bargains to be had there would be more buyers. I don't see any jewelry stores closing so there is disposable income somewhere. But where are the art buyers?

"Science Fair" - another YouTube PODcast from the Carnegie

I realized that the "Science Fair" PODcast interview had never been posted by the Carnegie. I, of course, have neither direct access to these interviews nor the skills to post them myself so I do thank Karen for adding another bit to their publicity grist mill. Either do a Susan Gorsen search (isn't that amazing!!!!) or search Carnegie Center for Art and History and you'll find all the PODcasts. Yes, I know I sound like Brenda Vaccarro........

Yesterday I attended a monthly morning program at the Carnegie relating to and presented by artists with disabilities of one sort or another. This particular artist has had about as many challenges as one person can handle yet she manages with grace and a sense of humor to maintain her dignity, her creativity and her artistic output. Unfortunately the weather here yesterdy morning was a snowy, slushy, semi-frozen disaster and KY drivers were in a typical panic mode. The drive over was harrowing to say the least  -  and I'm not someone bothered by this stuff  but was way bothered by the complete incompetence of other drivers going way too fast for the road consitions..... Needless to say we made it safe and sound but I was definitely glad to be the driver and not the passengers!! It was all worth it because of this artist's very moving presentation, only attended by 7 brave souls but we 7 paid rapt attention.

Today I went to an art opening with my 8 year old granddaughter Sara, who is my art show buddy. The small exhibit was quite nice and I was thrilled to see my friend CJ's mother Naomi (age 87 or 88 I think) had 3 absolutely delightful small paintings in this very tightly juried show. When I congratulated her she asked me if there were any "professional" artists in the show. I only knew on 1, a young man just beginning his career, but the others were for the most part unknown to me. She said that being accepted into the show where "professionals" were hung with her was just the most wonderful thing ever. Now this woman has been painting off and on her entire life. It's not the first time her work has been exhibited. She has a lovely expressive sense of painterly realism and stong compositional skills. The fact that she's still making paintings and still enjoying her own creative adventures at her age is a fabulous thing. The fact that she was once a student of mine just touches my heart.... Way to go Naomi!!!!!