C.C. Young residents to display works of art
In the seventh annual art exhibition “Art is Ageless,” sponsored by C.C. Young’s Learning and Cultural Arts Center, adults 65 and older will present their works and prove that creativity can thrive at any age.
Dee Wadsworth, director of the arts center at the senior residential community, says the exhibit highlights the creativity in the human spirit and places a special value on older generations.
“We focus on older people and their creative endeavor. We believe creativity is ageless, and that’s our focus,” Wadsworth says.
With a growing participation of Dallas’ senior residents, the exhibit’s applicants this year share a particular enthusiasm for art. Sue Turner, a resident in the community, smiles when she shows a visitor the first painting she will submit to the exhibit. This is her first attempt with art — she moved to C.C. Young in December and completed the painting in two days.
“She told me what needed to be done. She wouldn’t ask me what to do. She has a good eye,” says Georgia Kifer, a volunteer who teaches art to residents in the Alzheimer’s unit.
Turner’s painting, titled “Dreams of the Past,” is a colorful image of a boat in an open field with a sunset facing the landscape. She says she wanted to paint something that would evoke nostalgia.
“I can imagine somebody really wanted that boat at one time,” she says. “At one moment, that boat served its purpose. I can remember things that we got that we were so proud of, and it all went into the past.”
Painting is just one of the exhibit’s categories. Others include photography, poetry, hard crafts, soft crafts and visual arts. Wadsworth noticed a variety in seniors’ work.
“Sometimes it’s a portrait, sometimes it’s abstract. [It] reflects the diversity of older people’s experiences. They’re so individualistic. They don’t try to mimic each other,” she says.
Dale Parvin, a resident of the community, is submitting his first work to the exhibit. “Bandit, The Gazebo Squirrel” is a photograph Parvin took on C.C. Young’s campus. The photo captures the motion of a squirrel jumping into a bird feeder to catch food.
“The squirrel was out and waiting, anticipating — ‘Where’s the food?’ I took the little Kodak throwaway camera. I was ready for Bandit,” Parvin says.
Submitted work will be reviewed by a panel of three judges. The event, says C.C. Young president Kenneth Durand, promotes a meaningful message to our community.
“Believing is seeing. If we believe that older people can still give, can still be creative, are still valuable, then they are more apt to be. If this vision is fulfilled, our culture will be richer.”
2006 ART IS AGELESS EXHIBIT
What: All artists 65 and older can participate in the event. Categories include paintings, visual arts, soft crafts, hard crafts, photography, short prose writing and poetry. Submission deadline is March 15.
Where: Dallas Children’s Theater at the Rosewood Center for Family Arts, 5938 Skillman at Northwest Highway. Open to the public.
When: Saturday, April 8, 2 p.m.
For information: 214-841-2834 or ccyoung.org
