Expert guidance to support aspiring artists and creative individuals

Carrie Patterson has been a complete game-changer for our experience of the college application process. As a college coach plus art mentor, Carrie has truly enhanced my daughter's high school experience, has helped to strengthen her identity as an artist, and has made the college application process to art schools and art programs much less daunting and way more do-able. Hiring Carrie was one of the best decisions we've made in my daughter's high school career.

— Hetty Barnett, 2026

Finding Carrie was a lifesaver. She guided my son through every step of the art school application process, from researching schools, to finding classes and workshops and local arts communities, to essay writing and portfolio prep. She conferenced with him weekly during peak application season and sent me detailed emails with updates and next steps. We are so happy we found her. We are watching the acceptance letters roll in now.

— Gail Bailey, 2026

We can’t say enough great things about The Gesso. Carrie supported our son throughout the entire college application process, making what could have been an overwhelming experience feel manageable and even exciting. Carrie helped develop and organize his portfolio and shared many insights into what art colleges are really looking for. Even more than that, she inspired him, boosted his confidence, and helped him grow as an artist and as a future college student. Our son was always looking for his coaching meetings and sessions. We’re incredibly grateful for Carrie's guidance and would highly recommend her, especially for students interested in art programs.

— Angela Gabriel, 2026

Working with Carrie was an absolute pleasure and a complete lifesaver! She is extremely knowledgeable regarding the art school admissions process, and we truly believe we would’ve been lost without her. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed working with her, valued her expertise, and trusted her judgement completely. What a relief when she got accepted at her first-choice school and into its very competitive Fashion Design program. We can’t thank Carrie enough for her role in making her dream possible! We most certainly recommend Carrie without any hesitation!

— Meredith Andrews, 2026

Carrie is worth her weight in gold. She made the process of identifying colleges and applying to them so smooth and easy. She is super knowledgeable about many different art programs and gets to know each student and advise them individually on which programs would be the best fit for what they are looking for. She makes all the steps for applying clear and keeps students on track through the whole process. I can't imagine having done it without her!

— Sylvia Fallon, 2025

We are so thankful we hired Carrie! We were going back and forth on whether to hire a private college counsellor, but because this was our eldest child and first to apply to college, we decided to trust Carrie with the immense task of counseling our eldest through the college application process. Carrie is proactive, organized and incredibly knowledgeable about all aspects of the process: choosing schools, financial aid, SAT prep, portfolio, essay development, summer programs, remaining on time/on task, and how to achieve goals by a certain deadline. Our daughter was accepted into her top choice college and into the competitive Graphic Design program! College acceptances are still rolling in, and we are so thankful for all Carrie has done and continues to do for our daughter. 

— Chrissy B, 2025

Carrie is a wonderful counselor for art students given her breadth of experience.  Perfect for our creative young man who needed some prodding and help staying on timelines.  She even scheduled a photographer to make it easy to have their work professionally photographed.  I highly recommend her for her sound advice and cannot say enough good things.  

— L. Mackethan, 2025

Three words come to mind when I think about our experience with Carrie: preparation, expertise, and empathy.

— Parent, 2024

I am incredibly grateful for the knowledge, support and guidance Carrie shared with my daughter. Pursuing a degree in animation has been a long-time dream of hers. She is my second child to apply to college and I thought the process would be simple the second time around. I quickly realized that was not the case. My daughter and I were both overwhelmed by the myriad of admission and portfolio items required for a college art application. The level of anxiety surrounding her college applications was quickly growing for both of us. Thank goodness for Carrie! She shared the perfect amount of support and advice. My daughter's art portfolio anxiety quickly changed to feelings of excitement and confidence. Carrie was not only helpful, she is so comfortable to work with. It felt more like working with a friend! In the end, Ashley was admitted to both her top two school choices. Carrie's guidance literally helped make my daughter's dreams come true.

— Melissa Pedro, 2024

You cannot go wrong with Carrie. We had a late start because my daughter was previously thinking of premed, but at the end of the summer just before her Senior year, she changed course to apply for illustration programs at art schools. She is super friendly, patient, passionate, organized, and very knowledgeable. She started with some guided art exercises to build a portfolio which really helped inspire my daughter. Carrie had great advice on what can and cannot be used for reference art, which I think was crucial for my daughter's portfolio. Carrie broke the process down into small, achievable steps that made it much more manageable, and through the entire process she was a wonderful cheerleader. Carrie also has great knowledge of art schools around the country. It wasn't just about the programs but also the faculty and culture of the school, and she had good tips on how to search for programs that could be a good fit.

— Parent, 2024

Having Carrie on our team made ALL of the difference! She was dedicated to helping my daughter by reviewing her existing artwork, giving constructive critique and helping create a list of artwork she needed to produce to have a well-rounded portfolio. She also tailored the portfolio submission to the areas where my daughter was most interested and then Carrie made it happen.

— Parent, 2023

We are extremely happy that Carrie Patterson helped our daughter with her application process for College, we just cannot imagine how it would have been without her input, starting from selection of schools all the way to the last details of the final portfolio and essays reviews, not only that but also great attitude, easy going, always in a good mood and very easy to reach. The final results were also great, our daughter got accepted into some of her dream schools with her help. Sandra and Ricardo Leon.

— Parent, 2023

If you want your kid in a top art university, but don't know much about how to go about it, AND you have a talented kid, then Carrie (the founder of The Gesso) is the ally you want on your side. She guides the student through the right steps that need to be taken towards having a portfolio ready for college applications and the right mix of items to make it balanced and noticeable. But that isn't all she does! High school students have busy lives, and they need a time-keeper and a task master to keep them on schedule, identify and apply to universities in time -- Carrie does this fantastically. On top of that, she does periodical check-ins with the parents and keeps them appraised about what needs to be done. My daughter ended up in RISD, and I have no hesitation saying that Carrie had a major contribution to this outcome.

— Parent, 2022

Connecting with Carrie made a huge difference in my daughter’s process of applying to art schools.  Carrie understands this process and the art programs and colleges in the US.  She works with her students to develop a well-rounded and thoughtful portfolio.  Carrie works with her students to evaluate the different programs they might consider and streamlines the evaluation and application process through her well-organized spreadsheets.  When we were visiting a school and some questions came up, she was accessible at a time sensitive moment.  Applying to schools for art, to art schools or art programs within liberal art schools, is a very different application process; having Carrie to guide and counsel us was a valuable and worthwhile investment.

— Parent, 2022