Resident artists’ works wow guests

By SHELBY SCHROEDER

Senior artists showed creativity by doing what they enjoy.

NILES — Family and staff paid a special visit to a senior housing community to marvel at the imaginative art of its residents.

An art exhibition with the works of several dozen area seniors was by the Association of Ohio Philanthropic Homes for the Aging, a not-for-profit advocate of older Ohioans.

The event was hosted at the Niles branch of Shepherd of the Valley, an assisted- and independent-living community for seniors, and included pieces created by several members of the Boardman branch, as well as residents of Copeland Oaks and Assumption Village.

Guests, including some of the artists, circled a gallery room with tables and walls decked with lively three-dimensional pieces, vivid oil paintings and texture-intense mixed media. All the art was created during art class at the facilities.

Art instructor Marie Laskay said the art program is a favorite activity of many residents at Shepherd of the Valley.

“Certain ones come in running to see what we’re doing, or ask, ‘Can I do art today?’” she said.

For several artists, only decades after their art-making years ended in high school, the senior living community offered them another chance to pick up a paint brush or glue gun.

The self-described amazed and impressed guests toured the room, calling their work outstanding and beautiful.

Laskay explained that the varying types of media give residents of different abilities — and disabilities — a chance to create. The works range from the more difficult, from sewing and painting with oil, to the more simple and freestyle, such as the abstract works using modeling paste.

The modeling paste works well for residents with visual or physical impairments. They can design works by touch, Laskay said.

Darnell Jones, 60, formerly of Youngstown, created several religion-themed wall pieces using the paste, including one with tones of burnt hues of reds and browns with insets of Scripture and a cross.

Jones had two strokes that made it difficult to use her right hand. She thanked staff for helping her with the pieces she submitted.

Many other works had calming themes: natural landscapes, animals, ocean views and sunrises in warm earth tones. Others were geared toward the whimsical and abstract — an array of neon materials and bright acrylics that revealed a cheerful dimension the senior artists derive from their work.

Of those artists in attendance, all complimented the art program at Shepherd of the Valley.

“There’s a lot of stuff to do here,” said Terry Schlabaugh, 62, formerly of Austintown. “They ask me what I’d like to do and I say, ‘art class!’”

Unconcerned with the chance to have their work shown at a state competition in Columbus, many of the artists said they thought of their work as a personal comfort.

Kim Taylor, activity director for Shepherd of the Valley here, said, “The work we have seen ... illustrates that creativity and enthusiasm don’t fade with age.”