Studio Tour: Don Seiden (Artist, Educator, Author)

Tomorrow I’m posting Don and Jackie’s Open House.  Don and Jackie are among the most fascinating couples I’ve spent time with, and their home among the most interesting I’ve visited.  There’s so much to see that I’m splitting the tour into three or four parts starting today with Don’s studio.  If you’d like to hear music along with the story, just click play on the You Tube button on the right hand sidebar.  Enjoy.

Don enjoys spending time in his bright, two level studio, which is located in the former barn behind he and Jackie’s Rogers Park home of 30 years.  An artist, mentor, author and former Art Institute instructor, Don Seiden was an early advocate for Art Therapy, an idea which seemed strange at the time but which is now widely used, taught and studied.  Don’s eyes still light up when he talks about seeing patients for whom nothing had worked show improvement after working with art therapists and making art themselves.

According to his biography, “in addition to founding the art therapy department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, he has also served as a former chair for the sculpture, art education and art therapy departments at SAIC. Seiden is co-author of Direct Metal Sculpture and author of Mind Over Matter and the forthcoming Art Works.”

Continued . . .

Don’s studio is filled with sketches, painting and sculpture, so he and Jackie have recently begun sorting decades of art into piles for sale at various price points:  $5, $10, $25, etc.  The space would be ideal for a small gathering or event with a large selection of amazing art at all price points.  I bought a very interesting female nude sketch Don drew in the early 1970′s for $10 (seriously).

While retired from the Art Institute, Don offers mentoring to artists. Visit Don’s website to learn more about visiting his studio or mentoring.  And to learn more about Don’s life, visit Amazon to purchase the excellent graphic novel biography Artobiography.

Please come back tomorrow for Don and Jackie’s amazing Open House.

Don (far right) strongly resembles his father (far left)

Dancing with Death, Don titled this sculpture of he and Jackie dancing with the embodiment of the appointment we all have on our calendars.

This sculpture is of Don's parents

A breathtaking large scale rhino sculpture stands between the house and studio. Don constructed the piece using a technique he developed with tin foil and duct tape

Coincidentally, Don and Jackie spoke to me about their late friend Rudy before I toured the studio. It's clear that they still miss their friend a great deal

Don holding the sketch I bought from him