Charlotte Sorsen – Cover Artist

By Emma Taylor

Often, an artist’s journey begins with a singular moment—an instance when they find art. For Charlotte Sorsen, it’s more accurate to say that art found her—and it did so early. Her family tree is brimming with creative talent, and even as a child, she was never far from inspiration.

Sorsen recalls sitting on her grandfather’s lap while he sketched elaborate drawings for her and her brother. The scent of stubby crayons tucked in the breast pocket of his vest still lingers in her memory. In the early morning hours, they would toast bread over an iron stove while he transformed a simple blackboard into a world of castles and fire-breathing dragons. She remembers visiting the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, standing wide-eyed in the Egyptian wing at 10 years old—slightly spooked in the shadow of the ancient statues, but filled with the unmistakable urge to create something with her hands.

And create she has—across mediums, decades, and the natural rhythm of a long, evolving life. Sorsen seems to let curiosity be her guide, often following a spark before fully understanding the larger themes that tie her work together.

Sorsen nurtured her creative instincts while growing up in Lexington, Massachusetts. When it came time for formal training, she attended the New England School of Art and Design and took courses at the Museum School of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

Her first jobs out of school were in the technical illustration departments of several large companies. “They all had production departments, but it wasn’t terribly creative,” she recalls. “It was a lot of ink drawings of mechanical things— schematics for engineers. I did that just because those jobs were available.”

Sorsen eventually returned to her more expressive roots while raising her children, though—like most parents with young kids—she had to fit creative time into the chaos of daily life. Her ‘art studio’ was perched atop the washing machine. At one point, she switched from oil to acrylic paint simply to make cleanup easier after her little ones, inevitably, knocked over her supplies. It was a practical compromise at the time, but one she’s stuck with ever since.

As her children grew and the pace of family life shifted, Sorsen began carving out more space for her creative work. What had long been squeezed into spare moments and corners of the house began to take up real room—both physically and imaginatively.

In 1998, she opened her own boutique in Amesbury, Massachusetts, a storefront where she could not only sell her handmade creations but also create a space infused with her artistic spirit. “It was small,” she says of the shop, “but it was mine—and it had a window on the sidewalk,” a detail she had long envisioned.

The shop included some of Sorsen’s paintings, but she primarily focused on apparel. She did lampworking, or glass bead-making, and sold custom jewelry. Inspired by exotic textiles, she dusted off her sewing skills from Home Economics and created one-of-a-kind jackets from parcels of woven tapestry and Japanese kimono silks. Her creations drew a devoted following—no small feat in the days before social media! But after a decade as a shopkeeper, she felt it was time for another shift.

Sorsen closed the boutique and returned to studio work until 2012, when she and her partner made the move to Florida’s gulf coast.

The couple had often vacationed in Florida. Both avid swimmers, they spent their days body surfing in the waves and sun-drying in the warm, 80-degree air. After returning one May to a particularly gloomy Massachusetts, they decided it was time for a change. By September, they were officially Floridians.

The first three years of Florida life also marked the final years of her partner Jerry’s life. During that time, Sorsen stepped back from art to care for him with devotion, letting creative pursuits pause while she focused on being present. But, as Sorsen learned in earlier seasons of life, stepping away didn’t mean letting go—creation was always waiting, ready to return when she was.

When she returned to her practice, Sorsen found herself drawn more deeply
to painting than ever before. Though Massachusetts had its own coastal charm, Florida’s bold, sun-soaked palette brought something new to her work.

“I just enjoy the painting part now. It’s what brings me the most joy,” she says. “It’s funny—I felt like I had no control over what dripped off the brush. It was going to be orange and aqua and blue, whether I planned it or not. The paint just jumped onto the brush. I couldn’t stop it—and I didn’t want to.”

Sorsen’s painting that’s featured on the cover is more than a vivid coastal scene—
it’s a meditation on movement, memory, and the quiet arc of a life. Against a
backdrop of rich blues and purples, a single bird soars in front of a golden sun, its
wings arched mid-flight. Though not considered traditional composition, Sorsen embraced the asymmetry, later recognizing the deeper symbolism that had emerged. “The bird, you know, it comes in, there’s a middle, and it leaves,” she reflected. “That kind of is what life is, you know.” Looking back on decades of creative evolution, she sees the work—like much of her art—not as something carefully constructed, but as something that moved through her. “I’m not planning to go anywhere, hopefully not any time soon,” she added with a smile. “But… the bird is going out the other direction,” she laughed.

Sorsen first joined Island Gallery West before its transition to downtown Bradenton, where it became Island Gallery and Studios. In addition to her larger-scale paintings, she delights in creating miniature pieces, ornaments, wine glasses, and greeting cards, blending her fine art practice with a continued love for playful, giftable keepsakes. Sorsen’s work can be viewed and purchased at Island Gallery and Studios on Old Main Street in Bradenton.