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Artist tackles mental health issues through art
Charlie Serotoff has been tufting — creating art with fabric — for only a few years. He uses the medium to tackle difficult topics like mental health.
NEW YORK - For as long as he can remember, Charlie Serotoff has been connected to art.
"I take very challenging mental health issues — or, in many cases, existential emotional experiences that we all have — and try to come up with a visual for them," he explains.
After two decades in tech as a software designer and product manager, Serotoff found himself searching for a deeper form of expression. Battling depression, he turned to tufting — a textile art that uses a tufting gun to punch yarn through fabric — blending design, therapy, and craftsmanship to turn personal stories into colorful, textured works of art.
"I found it to be incredibly therapeutic," he says. "Almost like art therapy."
Each of Serotoff’s pieces is hand-sculpted — every panel of yarn, color, and shape carefully clipped to add texture and depth. "It satisfies my tactile need to work with my hands," he says. "But it also feeds my creative need to build these beautiful visual compositions."
Last November, he began turning his own mental health journey into visual stories. One piece, Feelings Aren’t Facts, represents how a job loss can shake your confidence — but not your strength.
"She’s powerful, planted, stoic, present," Serotoff explains. "Rooted into the ground while waves of overwhelming feelings — the red and white circles — gravitate around her. She’s not paying them any mind."
Another piece, Magical Thinking, explores the concept of manifesting possibility. It’s his most abstract work yet — a meditation on how imagination can reshape reality. Color plays a powerful role in Serotoff’s art — not only emotionally, but personally.
"I’m partially red-green colorblind," he says. "That’s a big reason I gravitate toward bold colors and high contrasts. It’s easier for me to see and enjoy. I always wonder what others see — because it looks loud and beautiful to me."
Blending his background in tech with his art, Serotoff even created a five-second animation that brings his vibrant work to life — creating a space where people can connect and feel seen.
"I want to continue making art that helps people feel a little less alone," he says. "And I want to encourage others to find creative outlets — especially in the art-therapy space — that can help them on their mental health journey too."