Frances Smersh is the creative spark that ignited Click! over 15 years ago. Her jewelry designs are our founding cornerstone, and her design sensibility continues to inform our aesthetic.
For over five years now, Frances has been living with Young Onset Alzheimer's Disease. What started with repeated questions has become an inability to reliably form complete sentences. What remains is her spark.
Recently most of her creative energy has been focused toward painting and sketching. Her work has become increasingly abstract as her ability to recreate an image from her mind has been replaced by the joy of gesture. She continues to layer colors and take them away until she arrives at something that works visually for her.
Frances is our featured artist for July. Art Walk is a little different in Covid times: you can "walk" virtually and shop online, look through the window, or join us inside throughout the month at socially distanced intervals.
July 9 through August 12, we will donate 50% of all sales of Frances's paintings to our local chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. Their work continues to provide resources for families struggling with this disease. Donations can be made directly in Frances's name on our fundraising page.
There is still no treatment or cure for Alzheimer's.