CREATE Arts Center
STUDIO DOWNSTAIRS
A therapeutically informed art studio program for adults living with post-trauma & mental illness
“Look In/Look Out"- Portraits in Progress”
An exhibit of original photography and mixed media artwork
You Are Invited to a Free Symposium: Friday, June 4th, 1pm - 5 pm. (CEUs available) *
1-2:30 pm-Keynote Address: “Matt Sesow: One Man’s Journey Through Art and Healing”
Speaker: Matt Sesow, self-taught artist
2:30-4:00 pm- Panel Presentation and Discussion:
“Unique Perspectives”: The Healing Power of Making Art in the Context of Therapy and Community
Moderator: Katherine Williams, PhD ATR-BC
Panelists: Jenny Sawle, member, Studio Downstairs
Sally Brucker LCSW-C, ATR-BC, Founder/Director, Studio Downstairs
Matt Sesow- Self-taught artist
4:00- 5:00 pm- Community discussion, Q and A
5:00 -8:00 pm- Opening Reception for Art Exhibit-“ Look IN/Look OUT”
Location: Takoma Park Municipal Center Gallery, 8600 Maple Avenue, Takoma Park, MD. 20912
Directions to Takoma Park Municipal Center
Studio Downstairs is a program of CREATE Arts Center, Silver Spring www.createartscenter.org
All above events are made possible through the support of a grant from the Takoma Foundation
RSVP- sbrucker2@gmail.com
For more information contact: Sally Brucker 301 588-2787(ARTS)
Visit us at: www.studiodownstairsinsideout.
Website: www.studiodownstairs.org
*for social workers, art therapists, counselors) The Symposium is suitable for mental health consumers, family members, mental health practitioners, artists, and the general public.
Speaker Bios
Guest Speaker: Matt Sesow, Self -Taught Artist, www.sesow@sesow.com
Matt Sesow is a full time artist living and painting in Washington, DC. His raw style developed from being a "self-teaching" painter with a commitment to producing artworks that are personal, expressive, and reflect Sesow's reactions to current events.
At the age of eight, Matt was struck by the propeller of a landing airplane while playing outside near his Nebraska home. The propeller severed his left dominant arm, and resulted in the amputation of his hand. Painting and art found Matt around 1994, as a hobby and diversion while he was working at IBM. He claims that painting has helped him 'heal' and communicate feelings about his disability. In 2001 he abandoned the computer industry and has been living entirely off his artistic creations. Matt Sesow has created thousands of paintings, which have shown in galleries, museums, and private collections around the world.
Panel Moderator: Dr. Katherine Williams PhD, professor emeritus George Washington University.
Katherine J. Williams, Ph.D., ATR-BC, is Associate Professor Emeritus and former Director of the Art Therapy Program at George Washington University. She also taught for a number of years in the Art Therapy Programs at Goddard College and Vermont College. Recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the American Art Therapy Association, Dr. Williams has been active in the field of Art Therapy education. A graduate of the Washington School of Psychiatry's Group Psychotherapy Training Institute, Dr. Williams is currently in the private practice of art therapy and clinical psychology in Washington, DC and Falls Church, Virginia.
Panelists: Sally Brucker LCSW-C, ATR-BC, founder Studio Downstairs,
Sally Brucker, MSW, MA, ATR holds three masters degrees; in early childhood special education, art therapy, and clinical social work. She received post -masters training in the field of expressive arts therapies at the European graduate school in Saas Fee, Switzerland. Ms. Brucker has been practicing art therapy for over 30 years. She has been a visiting professor at Galludet University, Art Therapy Italiana, Hampshire College, Harmony Institute (St. Petersburg, Russia) and Institute for Psychology (Moscow, Russia). She is on the faculty of Montgomery College in Maryland. She is currently in private practice and director of Studio Downstairs, a therapeutically- informed arts studio for adults living with mental illness. Ms. Brucker has presented workshops both throughout the United States and internationally. She is also an exhibiting painter and printmaker. She lives in Takoma Park, Maryland.
Jenny Sawle is an artist and a member of Studio Downstairs. She has been making art all of her life. For the past six and a half years, she has been in therapy to help her to recover from a childhood of abuse. Her artwork has been one of the driving forces in her recovery.
Matt Sesow, (See Bio. above )
