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Dear Readers,
The Art With
Elders program reaches a wide range of individuals. Some have been artists all
their lives, some have just discovered art. Some are wonderfully talented, some
struggle to make sense of it all. But they all come together to explore how the
simple process of putting lines, shapes and colors on a piece of paper or
canvas can create extraordinary images and can transform lives.
We want to
offer this opportunity for art-making and companionship to more elders in Bay
Area long term care facilities and we need your help to do it. Please join us
in making a difference in their lives. MAKE A DONATION to ELDERGIVERS.
Pam Hagen, Editor
Art With Elders survives and thrives through the
generosity
of caring individuals like you.
Art knows no age. The body may change,
but the imagination still burns bright.
Jane Alexander, former chair
National Endowment for the Arts
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 Art has made a better life for me.
Elizabeth Aitken
Elizabeth Aitken,
now in her late 80's, says her life has been full of elegance and charm, and
art has always been part of it.
"People say
that life is hard but to me life is wonderful," she says. "I appreciate the
beauty around me, I appreciate life." She remembers biking through a large
property when she was just 10 or 12. "I saw a single flower growing beside a
brook. It was so beautiful that I stopped and got off my bike. I knelt by the
flower and wept, overcome by its beauty."
Read more....
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Convinced
that the instructor sets the tone, we are truly fortunate to have Santiago
Gervasi as our guide. He brings his love of art, its endless possibilities
as well as its challenges, to the class, and so much more.
Santiago's
great sense of humor sets everyone at ease and his interest in each person's
development as an artist is as reassuring as it is empowering. In these classes
there is no crowd mentality. Each person is unique and is at a different stage.
In the
class everyone has an unfinished work in front of them and everyone is "on
purpose". They have choices again. Many have lost so much, and art gets them
back in the driver's seat. It restores their dignity.
Read more....
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Santiago Gervasi
Painter
 Making art is like a walking meditation, a training in how to focus. It connects you with the Universe. It helps you let go, be honest, have integrity, and expose your true self.
Santiago Gervasi
Santiago
teaches in the memory-impaired community at Silverado Senior Living, and at
Sunrise Assisted Living, both in Belmont. This work has been an eye-opening
experience for him. Working with people coping with memory loss for the first
time he shares their frustration as things slip away from them.
Read more...
You can see Santiago's artwork at www.santiagogervasi.com.
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For age is opportunity no less
Than youth itself, though in another dress.
And as the evening twilight fades away
The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The closing lines from Morituri Salutamus, a poem written for his classmates on the 50th anniversary of his graduation from Bowdoin College.
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Jonathan Huang
Ceramicist and Sculptor
I try to push people out of their safety zones.
I
want them to enjoy painting, but also be challenged.
Jonathan Huang
He says
working with elders is "the most challenging teaching I have done, but it is
also the most rewarding.
"I meet each
student where she is and then push her to widen her range by using a bigger
format, or a different technique, or another subject matter.
"It's so
exciting to see improvement. It's all out there on the page, so it is
immediately evident. It might be a change in technique, but a change in
attitude is just as rewarding.
Read more...
Art With Elders class, Lytton Gardens
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Jean
James
Mountain View Healthcare Center
 I have time now to read and to
draw - which I love.
Jean James
Jean fell
and broke her femur a year ago, and has been in the Mountain View Healthcare
Center healing. She now uses a wheelchair for mobility.
"I'm amazed
at the people here who have accepted their situation. I haven't found that yet
for myself. I still hope to be able to move home with my husband again."
Outside of
her weekly two-hour class, Jean is constantly working in her sketch book. Although she is very new to the AWE Program, one of
her works has already been
accepted into Art With Elders' 18th
Annual Exhibit. She says "That's amazing!"
Read more...
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Mei Ling Han, an Artist not a Scientist
Lytton Gardens, Palo Alto
 I'm crazy about painting. When I'm painting I don't want to do anything else. I forget everything else.
Mei Ling Han
Mei Ling Han
moved to San Francisco from Hong Kong in 1995. She had retired from a career as
a gynecologist and as a teacher in a medical college in Shanghai. She was
well-respected in her field, attending international conferences and presenting
research papers.
But when she
came to Lytton Gardens, she discovered painting and fell in love with it.
Read more...
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Art at Any Age
 The San Francisco Women Artists Gallery, a membership
organization of professional artists, has one show each year in collaboration
with another art organization. Early this year, the Gallery contacted
ELDERGIVERS to ask if we would partner with them in a show titled Art at Any
Age. It was a natural for us. Twenty pieces of artwork from previous Annual
Exhibits were selected for the show.
For these
collaborative events, the Gallery appoints a juror from among its members to
choose four pieces for merit awards - two for the Gallery's members and two for
the artists from the collaborating organization. The juror, Gail Chadell Nanao,
explained that for the first time in the history of these collaborative
efforts, the juror was unable to limit the award to two. She said that the
quality of the art from the AWE program and its great variety overwhelmed her and she gave awards to these five
AWE artists: Berthe Baron, Ho Cheung Chung, Al Klouda, Beatrice Meyer and Joan
Renault.
You can see their award winning paintings on our website.
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What we are trying to do is find a way of making learning
in the arts a lifelong process. This means the human needs, personal needs and
communal needs that you bring to each stage of your life have the arts as one
of the necessary human languages.
Dana Giola, former chair
National Endowment for the Arts
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NOT A CLUNKER!
 Long-time
supporters, Ron and Irene Nakasone, donated their 1996 Honda Civic to ELDERGIVERS
in June. Because they maintain their vehicles so well, Auction City (a
wonderful organization we've worked with for over ten years) sold the car
quickly and was able to send us a check for $1,170 - the same amount the
Nakasone's will be able to deduct from their 2009 income tax. Thank you Ron and
Irene!
DO YOU
HAVE A CAR YOU'D LIKE TO DONATE?
Contact us. We'll do the rest.
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Many thanks for your interest in our work. We invite you to send us any suggestions. And please feel free to share our newsletter with your friends and family.
Sincerely,
Brent Nettle
Executive Director
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LAST CHANCE TO SEE THE 17th TRAVELING EXHIBIT!
Sept 22 - Oct 18
RINCON CENTER
101 Spear Street
(at Mission Street)
map
Watch for information in Fall 2009 on the 18th Annual Exhibit
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Our Thanks to the Host Sites of the
17th Traveling Exhibit
Oakland:
Frank
Ogawa Plaza
The Ordway Building
San Francisco:
AgeSong's
580 Gallery
Calvary
Presbyterian Church
City
Hall
The
New Federal Building
595
Market Street
Flax
Art & Design
Koret
Health & Recreation Center, USF
Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals
One
Market Plaza
Rincon
Center
San
Francisco Women Artists Gallery
Thoreau
Center Gallery
War
Memorial Performing Arts Center
South San Francisco:
Genentech
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