Kathy Cadow Parsonnet

Kathy Cadow Parsonnet is an artist and health professional, with over 30 years' professional practice in both public health and the arts.

She became involved in the Arts and Healing professions in 2001, including a five-year artist residency at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, bringing art to patients, families, and staff. She also collaborates with area schools, community centers, senior centers, and arts organizations, to make art accessible to all. While she specializes in group workshops, Kathy has been able to adapt to the realities of COVID and offers virtual online workshops as well. Her earlier career first as a nurse, then as a public health professional designing patient and family-centered programs for people living with chronic illnesses has informed her practice as a teaching artist.

As a result of her work with populations experiencing temporary or permanent physical or psychological challenges, Ms. Parsonnet created several interactive art forms, one of which is Fraglets Art, using magnetic assemblages which immediately engage people of all abilities in the creative process of art-making. She has also developed another art form known as Sans-Colle Collage (collage without glue). These painted materials are clean, lightweight, portable, and can be used in any setting where there is a flat surface - including airplanes!

For over a decade, Kathy collaborated with the DHMC Live Well/Work Well program to develop a series of creative interventions designed to improve employee health and wellness, such as the Art-on-the-Job project, Art Works for Health initiative, and Art-in-the-Stairwell program. In addition, she has been awarded several grants through the NH State Council on the Arts to bring both art and music to communities that do not regularly participate in the arts.

Kathy's consulting work includes helping arts, health, and music organizations around the country evaluate and develop their capcity to integrate the arts and healing. She has also been a consultant and researcher in the field of public health and chronic illness.

When not conducting workshops or consulting with arts and health organizations, Kathy spends her time in her studio at the Tip Top Media & Arts building in WRJ, Vermont, creating her own works of art. She sings regularly with several choral groups, including Cantabile Women (Norwich VT), Bel Canto, and the High Holiday Choir.

Email contact: kathy@fragletsart.com