Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sheridan Furrer. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Sheridan , thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I have held the identity of “artist” for as long as I can remember – and though I began showing in galleries and selling my paintings at the age of 17, I was never quite able to make the leap to calling myself a “full-time artist”. When I decided to go back to school in my mid-twenties, I knew that art had to be a part of my career path and learning that I could combine my passion for art and mental health in the field of art therapy made everything click for me; the combination is a perfect balance of creative engagement for myself and those that I will serve in the helping profession. I don’t think I would have had the focus to complete school and pursue my master’s degree if I had pursued art therapy sooner – the time it took in my late teens/twenties to bum around, work odd jobs, and gain general life experience has helped to give me the focus to really know what I want and the drive to achieve it.

Sheridan , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I was born and raised in Denver, CO and as I mentioned have been a “working artist” since I was 17 years old; I still hold that professional title to an extent. Throughout the years I have shown in numerous galleries across the front range and held studio spaces in Denver’s historic Santa Fe Art District and River North or “RiNo” art district. I have created murals throughout Denver working with Metropolitan State University of Denver and Colorado Department of Transportation, engaged in community art projects with BirdSeed Collective, and assisted my friend Sofie Birkin in her installation “Daydreamers” at Meow Wolf’s Convergence Station. In 2020 I helped found and served as gallery manager for Greenwave Gallery + K Space Art Studios which functioned as not only an art gallery but also DIY venue and community space, with a mission to prioritize underrepresented populations in Denver’s Sun Valley neighborhood.

But the identity I have been most aligned with in recent years is “mental health professional”, as I have been working in community mental health for the past three-and-a-half years in crisis intervention and prevention. I am currently pursuing my master’s degree in counseling and art therapy at Ursuline College in Northeast Ohio, with the aspiration to facilitate integrative community mental health centers that provide safe spaces for creative expression as well as access to therapeutic care utilizing various alternative therapies, such as art, music, movement, and horticulture (to name a few) in tandem with traditional psychotherapy approaches.

Presently with my personal artwork I focus on exploring my own subconscious imagery, and while juggling full-time school, work, and some semblance of a social life doesn’t leave much time for personal artmaking. When I am able to create a sketch, throw some paint around, or even just get lost in a doodle it is coming from a place of pure unfiltered expression and enjoyment in the simple act of creating.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I believe the way our society is structured today people absolutely do not have the time or resources (though time is arguably the most important resource we have) to genuinely explore themselves and their creativity, which to me, is a contributing factor to the “epidemic” of depression and anxiety diagnoses around the world. Art making and creative expression are not only an outlet for us but also a way to communicate our internal experience and share that with others – the lack of this engagement leads to further feelings of isolation and polarization.

In order for society to support and nurture creativity, people first have to have the “luxury” of time and resources to explore their creative selves. Thus, society would need to see creative outlets as necessity, which I think we are moving towards – however, when the majority of people are struggling to make ends meet, bigger systematic challenges need to be overcome. I suppose an immediate assistance would be to return funding to arts in schools and after-school programming, as well as for cities to invest budgets into community spaces so that creative engagement can be accessible for the community at large.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I want to encourage people to find their own creative resonance that enables them the freedom of self-expression, so that they can gain a deeper sense of who they are and live more fulfilling lives. Trust me, you do not have to be “good” at art to create art or to express yourself creatively. As I’m concerned, what constitutes “good art” is the earnest act of creation and self-expression. It is the processing of your own unique lived experience. Sometimes art is made just for yourself, other times to be shared with a select trusted few, and perhaps you’ll chose to share your art with the world.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @sfurrer_art
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/sfurrerart

Image Credits
Matthew Rucinski, Sofie Birkin, Monica Brown