Cathren is a community collaborative artist who has been working with the Community Libraries of Providence and other non-profits since 2012, developing arts and literacy programs and creating public art installations. She has been an artist in residence at Hattie Ide Chaffee Home since 2023, implementing visual arts and health programs with seniors and dementia patients. Website: ArtHouseRI.com
Julie Adams Strandberg did not set out to be a dancer. She’d taken dance classes when she was younger, but it was her sister Carolyn Adams who took the first leap into dancing with the Paul Taylor Dance Company from 1965-1982. The sisters would later become life-long collaborators, but when Julie entered Cornell University in […]
RI is in a state of emergency when it comes to primary care. Our state scores high on the national average for health insurance – only 2.2% of the people in Rhode Island are still without health insurance – yet an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 adults, or between a quarter and half of the adult population, lack […]
Susan Clausen has been a presence in the Providence art scene since 1985 but it wasn’t until 2021 that I first glimpsed her work through the half open door of her studio. I was on assignment to interview her husband, well-known artist Umberto Crenca, and I was intrigued by this unexpected find. Why hadn’t I […]
Dear C; I work at a busy coffee shop. One of my regular customers, Sam, has always been a laid-back dude but recently, he’d complained about feeling dragged out and tired. I didn’t know that much about his personal life, and he seemed to want to talk, so I asked a few questions and discovered […]
MALE, AGE 58, NEVER MARRIED, SINGLE I used to see love as a romantic epic, with a dazzling beauty who would take my breath away and cartoon birds that sang when she appeared. Later, I just wanted someone I could tolerate after a few hours. In my teens, I was really impacted by Hollywood’s view […]
Dear C; I have had it. I am sick and tired of myself. Every year I resolve to make the same changes and I start off with such a great attitude and so much enthusiasm, and then it just kind of dribbles off. I didn’t even bother to try this year. I know I have […]
Dear C, I recently had surgery, and oddly enough, the hardest part of recovery is that I can’t do things for myself that I normally do. I need help — and I really have a hard time asking for help. I was raised back when women were supposed to make everyone else happy, and they […]
Over 40% of Americans are obese and despite the fact that weight loss clinics and diet fads abound, these statistics continue to rise. The experts have been helpless to stop these burgeoning numbers so it is no wonder that the pharmaceuticals Ozempic, Wegovy, and other semaglutide medications seem like the miracle drugs Americans have been […]
Dear C, I’m a single homeowner with a creatively rewarding albeit low-paying career. I was married for 12 years, so I don’t feel like I missed out on anything. Honestly? I like living alone. I have been very independent in the last 30 years of my life but now that I am starting to get […]
Death Café. The name itself evokes a visceral response in each of us. From the moment we are born, we have a sense of what this unknowable event means, and as we grow, the culture and circumstances that surround us influence our perception of death. It is generally a grim view. I spoke with Jay […]