Susan M. Rostan
 
                                                                         
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Meet The NAWA Artist/Author Susan Rostan



Meet Susan Rostan a Signature NAWA Artist/Author


Some of our NAWA Signature Artists are also recognized authors who have published their work in books, articles, and papers both online, and offline. Their writing is as diverse as their artwork, covering fiction, non-fiction, academic research, poetry, children’s books and more.

A standard set of questions has been proposed to each of our Artist/Authors. These are Susan’s replies.

NAWA IS PLEASED TO INTRODUCE SUSAN ROSTAN.


Susan Rostan

1. What are you focused on in your writing?

Much of my academic research and writing focused on developing children’s artistic talent and creativity. This interest evolved into case studies of individual artists, and currently, a full biography of renowned Long Island artist Stan Brodsky’s artistic development.

2. What drew you to the subject matter of your work?

I have been an artist most of my life, tutored by my grandmother who had her own atelier. My interest in artistic development was instinctive, and an undergraduate degree in psychology gave me a greater understanding of thinking and problem solving, After earning an MFA in painting, I continued my studies in a doctoral program, focusing on creativity in artists and scientists.

3. What type of writing do you do?

My non-academic writing has been in the realm of narrative nonfiction. Digging: Lifting the Memorable from Within the Unthinkable, published in 2013, was the story of how a few members of my husband’s family survived World War II in Warsaw, Poland. My current manuscript is historical nonfiction, tracing the life and art of Stan Brodsky. In this endeavor, I am exploring the emergence and evolution of artistic and creative thinking. To this end, I am writing for NAWA NOW, interviewing members for special consideration, and co-leading NAWA’s Historical Research team, developing biographies of NAWA Presidents, past and present.

4. Who are you writing for?

Who is your target audience? My targeted audience is adult artists and non-artists interested in how artists think, do what they do, and get to where they have arrived.

5. Is your written work related to your artwork?

My writing isn’t specifically related to my artwork but it is related to my thinking as an artist. To write about another artist, or elicit meaningful discussions from another artist, I need to empathize with their work and artistic development. This kind of empathy emerges from my own practice. For example, my interest in color relationships, composition, and movement sensitizes me to these qualities in the work of other artists. This sensitivity also plays a part in my choice of words to use to describe a scene and my awareness of the visual quality of my writing.

6. How often do you write?

I endeavor to write every day, splitting my creative enterprise between writing and painting.

7. How do you balance your writing with your studio practice?

In 2016, my studio practice became a necessary part of my daily engagements with my creative impulses. After decades of research and then a significant investment in writing narrative nonfiction, I needed the hands-on manipulation of color and medium to satisfy my need to generate new ideas and visual experiences. Stan Brodsky, who I had known since his mentorship through my MFA encouraged me to return to concentrated studio work. With his encouragement and the community of artists he had created at the Art League of Long Island, I began to explore new options in my work. I had no idea that he would subsequently ask me to do a favor and write his biography, even as he pushed me to invest myself more fully in my artistic practice. The consequences of my immersion in his life and artistic development have included a deeper understanding of my work and the evolving flexibility in choosing which enterprise I need to focus on. It has become a more graceful flow between painting and writing.

8. When did you write your works?

My published scholarly writing began in 1992, after completing my doctorate. I continued publishing my research through 2008. In 2013, I published my first work of nonfiction, Digging: Lifting the Memorable from Within the Unthinkable, and began writing Brodsky’s biography in 2017.

9. Are you currently writing articles or books for publication?

Since joining NAWA in 2022, I have been a contributing writer for NAWA NOW, focusing on the artistic development of celebrated NAWA members.

Digging by Susan Rostan an Artist/Author Signature Member of NAWA

10. How and where have your works been published? Online? Print?

My scholarly work is in peer-reviewed print journals. My book was self-published in print and digital formats.

11. Do you self-publish your writing?

My first book was published by an independent publisher, giving me ample opportunity to participate in most aspects of the process.

Digging by Susan Rostan an Artist/Author Signature Member of NAWA

Digging by Susan Rostan an Artist/Author Signature Member of NAWA

12. How do you market your written work?

Much as most contemporary publishing endeavors, a great deal rests on the author. I learned how to participate in workshops and community reviewing to elicit reviews of my work and opportunities for blogged interviews. Through Independent publishing services, I was also able to enter my work in competition and reaped the rewards of a beautifully executed book.

13. Do you do book readings? Promo tours? Library lectures?

My marketing endeavors have included book readings discussions, and library lectures, all building on the skill set developed from presenting my academic research at national and international conferences.

14. Where can people access your publications? Links? Libraries?

My academic research is cited on my website: SusanMRostan.com. Digging is available on Amazon.com. My artist interviews are available in NAWA NOW.

15. In a few sentences tell us who and why people might feel compelled to read your publications.

As an artist trained in close and intensive observation of the world around me, I have brought this proclivity and skill set to my explorations of artistic and creative development in its varied manifestations.

___________________________________________________________

Congratulations and Thank you for sharing!

Mary Ahern – Chair: NAWA Public Relations Committee

National Association of Women Artists

NAWA. Empowering Women Artists Since 1889

https://thenawa.org/meet-the-nawa-artist-author-susan-rostan/













STORIES & INSIGHTS

Meet Susan Rostan

JANUARY 29, 2024

We were lucky to catch up with Susan Rostan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Susan , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Writing Digging: Lifting the Memorable from Within the Unthinkable was my most meaningful project. Memorializing the story and helping my husband’s uncle Marian find the descendants of the people who saved his life and the lives of other family members so that they could be recognized as “Righteous” by Yad Vashem was life-changing.

 

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have been an artist most of my life, tutored by my grandmother, who had her own atelier. My interest in artistic development was instinctive, and an undergraduate degree in psychology gave me a greater understanding of visual thinking and problem solving. My grandmother retired in 1970, and I took over her atelier and have been working with developing artists since then.

After earning an MFA in painting, I continued my studies in a doctoral program, focusing on creativity in artists and scientists. My published scholarly writing began in 1992, after completing my doctorate, and much of my subsequent academic research and writing focused on children developing their artistic talent and creativity.

My non-academic writing has been in the realm of narrative nonfiction. Digging: Lifting the Memorable from Within the Unthinkable, published in 2013, was the story of how a few members of my husband’s family survived World War II in Warsaw, Poland. My current project is also narrative nonfiction, exploring the life and art of the painter Stan Brodsky. I am exploring the emergence and evolution of artistic and creative thinking in this endeavor.

I am also writing for NAWA NOW, the National Association of Women Artists magazine, interviewing members for special consideration. In addition, I am co-leading NAWA’s Historical Research team, developing biographies of NAWA Presidents, past and present. My blog, NAWA Luminaries, appearing in the newsletter and on the website (www.thenawa.org), is the intersection of NAWA’s Historical Research and current exhibitions around the United States, highlighting celebrated NAWA members, bringing short biographies of past and present NAWA members to the limelight.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

My writing isn’t explicitly related to my artwork, but it is related to my thinking as an artist. I need to empathize with their work and artistic development to write about another artist or elicit meaningful discussions with another artist. This kind of empathy emerges from my own practice. For example, my interest in color relationships, composition, and movement sensitizes me to these qualities in the work of other artists. This sensitivity also plays a part in my choice of words to describe a scene and my awareness of the visual quality of my writing.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My studio practice is a necessary part of my daily engagements with my creative impulses. After decades of research and a significant investment in writing narrative nonfiction, I needed the hands-on manipulation of color and medium to satisfy my need to generate new ideas and visual experiences. The consequences of my immersion in artistic development have included a deeper understanding of my work and the evolving flexibility in choosing which enterprise I need to focus on. My abstract paintings have evolved from emotional responses to intimate human relationships to portraiture and recently to explorations of the colors and shapes in my environs. The images express my emotional state and thinking as I spontaneously connect to the worlds I inhabit.

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 Art League of Long Island's latest exhibit,

Stan Brodsky and Friends, set to remember abstract master

April 12, 2019

By Melissa Arnold

For Stan Brodsky, painting was so much more than just a skill or even a career. It was a language, a love affair, a truly sensual experience. The artist shared those feelings openly with students over the course of a renowned teaching career that spanned more than 50 years. 

Several months ago, the Art League of Long Island in Dix Hills began to prepare Stan Brodsky and Friends, a springtime exhibit celebrating Brodsky’s work along with nearly 30 of his dearest friends, many of whom were former students and mentees.


On March 30, just two weeks before the exhibit’s scheduled opening, Stan Brodsky passed away at the age of 94. He had continued to work and teach until the final weeks of his life, just as he wanted it. Brodsky’s students noted that the World War II veteran tried to retire a few years ago, but he couldn’t stand being away from doing what he loved. 

The Art League is moving forward with the show as planned, with the exhibit running from April 13 to 28. A reception on April 14 at 3:30 p.m. will allow the artists and those who loved Brodsky to honor his life and legacy.

Participating artists include Ennid Berger, Susan Bird, Susan Canin, Denise DiGiovanna, Simon Fenster, Stuart Friedman, Peter Galasso, Lenore Ann Hanson, Ginger Balizer-Hendler, Caroline Isacsson, Vincent Joseph, Deborah Katz, Marceil Kazickas, Denise Kramer, Barbara Miller, Catherine Morris, Pamela Long Nolan, Dianne Parker, Alicia R. Peterson, Doug Reina, Fran Roberts, Susan M. Rostan, Ellen Hallie Schiff, Laura Powers-Swiggett, Janice Sztabnik, Lois Walker and Hiroko Yoshida.

Stan has touched so many lives, inspiring them to pursue their passions,” said Susan Peragallo, coordinator and curator of the Art League’s Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery. “The exhibit will be a chance for everyone to celebrate him — the 27 artists in the show are only a small segment of those who were influenced by him over the years.”

A master abstract expressionist, Brodsky studied photojournalism and fine art before receiving a doctorate in art education from Columbia University in 1959. Originally from Greenwich Village, he moved to Huntington in 1965. Most of his teaching years were spent at Long Island University’s C.W. Post Campus in Brookville, and a collection of his notes and sketches from 1951 to 2004 can be found at the Smithsonian Institution.

Brodsky’s relationship with the Art League began in the late ’90s when he became an instructor. The classes were small in the beginning, with just five students enrolled in 1994, but grew rapidly, and eventually people had to be turned away from lack of space. “It’s not so much that he was popular, but he was inspiring and generous in his critiques, and people really responded to that,” Peragallo said.

Peter Galasso of Setauket remembers that Brodsky could often be found in the same way over the years as students arrived for class — sitting at his desk, usually eating an egg sandwich, always poring over an art history text.

“He had a contagious passion, and was constantly reading and continuing to study,” said Galasso, who began studies under Brodsky 20 years ago, eventually becoming a friend and traveling companion. “He was always looking to travel somewhere new or different. He wanted to be inspired by the local color of a place.”

Susan Rostan of Woodbury remembers entering Brodsky’s classroom for the first time while pursuing a master’s in fine art. Brodsky arranged the students in a circle and asked each one to introduce themselves. When it was her turn, Rostan simply told him, “I’ve heard I’m either going to love you or hate you, but I’m cautiously optimistic.”

Many years later, Rostan was sitting in a different class of Brodsky’s, this one at the Art League. But she was stunned by the striking realization that nothing had changed: He still wore the same striped sweaters and paint-splattered jeans. She painted a full-length portrait of him that day that will appear in the exhibit.

“He taught us as much about ourselves as he did about painting,” said Rostan, who is now working on a biography of Brodsky. “He was an unusual teacher in that he approached his students as equals and opened himself up to be vulnerable and form friendships with them, which allowed him to encourage them particularly well.”

Brodsky’s friendship and deep encouragement were beloved by so many of his students, said Doug Reina of Setauket. In fact, some of them continued to take his classes for decades just to spend more time with him.

“Stan had this ability to make you feel special. He was genuinely curious about you, and that means a lot,” Reina said. “In the old days before taking his classes, I would look at a scene and just try to copy it. But through him I learned to paint in a way that also expresses how I feel about the subject and the sensuousness of the paint itself. Stan painted with his own language and created something truly unique for the world.”

Stan Brodsky and Friends will be on view at the Art League of Long Island’s Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery, 107 E. Deer Park Road, Dix Hills. Admission is free. For more information, call 631-462-5400 or visit www.artleagueli.net