November 8, 2018
Karen Rosen, MA, ATR-BC, is founder of Connectives: Create & Connect, LLC, an art therapy practice located in Morristown, NJ. Originally from Scotland, Rosen has studied, worked and trained internationally. After moving to the United States in 1998, she earned her master’s from Caldwell University. Rosen values her AATA membership for the sense of community it provides both at national conferences and through engaging with her chapter, the New Jersey Art Therapy Association (NJATA). Particularly powerful moments include the chapter’s work with families living on the NJ Shore in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and when Rosen presented at a conference on her experience as an art therapy client during cancer treatment. “Through sharing this experience I hope to validate and encourage art therapists in the invaluable healing work that they provide.”
Rosen shares life events that have influenced her career and ignited her advocacy work:
Creativity and healing naturally go hand in hand for me. Since the loss of my mother to breast cancer in 1986, when I was 15 years old, and my own battle 20 years later, being creative through visual arts and music has provided me with a vehicle to express my loss and put me on the path toward healing. In addition, a sense of community has been imperative. Since my diagnosis with breast cancer in 2006, I have been an advocate and fundraiser for breast cancer charities in the UK and in USA.
In 2008, Rosen and her two sisters formed “A Step Ahead,” a team that walked for six days covering 95 miles of The West Highland Way in Scotland and raised £70,000 for a research project at Glasgow University. For the last eight years, she has walked in the 39-mile Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in NYC. She has additionally led her team, “Moms Moving Mountains,” through various events and has raised approximately $100,000 to date. Most recently, Rosen combined her passion for advocacy and music to organize a music festival, BreastFest, in Morristown, NJ, which included performances by four local bands and raised approximately $15,000 for the I Love You More Foundation. Rosen is a lead singer with two local bands, “The Thingama Jigs” and “Sideshow Kings”, who are regular performers on the New Jersey music scene.
Mother and Child” by Karen Rosen. Acrylic paint on canvas. 2011.
Artist’s statement: “I created this painting to commemorate the 25th anniversary of my mother’s passing and my own recovery from Breast Cancer. It evokes feeling in me of love, warmth, safety and innocence.”