Getting Artsy With The Residents

"In the Zone"





Once a month my sister Renee and I go to the local nursing home and do something artsy crafty with the residents.  This week I took two tubs of my framed art and did show and tell.  Then I told them that one of the ways artists learn new things is to copy a painting from an old master.  So I showed them a painting by Van Gogh of sunflowers and talked a little bit about his life.  Then we dropped the bomb on the residents by telling them we would like them to try and copy his painting.  Well, we had to take some of them kicking and screaming to the tables ( not really, but they did resist) and let them have a go with some acrylics.  After just a few minutes the room became very quiet.  They were "in the zone".  Even two of the staff joined in and painted.

We then took the paintings to Renee's and scanned them.  Then took the file to Walgreen's who are having a buy 25 get 25 free sale.  So we bought 50 / 4 X 6 photos for under $5.00.  We then took them home and glued them to the front of greeting cards that we got 1/2 off at Michael's.  (Can you tell I like to use coupons?).  So we ended up with 50 greeting cards  for about $10.00 that we made into little packs for the people who participated.  We will take them back next week for a little surprise gift.

Here are a couple of the brilliant masterpieces created that day.

After Van Gogh by Gen


After Van Gogh by Norma C





The only thing better than creating art is sharing that love with others.  AND you are never too young or too old to enjoy creating art.

Comments

  1. Heartwarming story and the results are wonderful. You will be blessed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Giving something back is so rewarding Karla!! I've really enjoyed your story and I'm sure the residents enjoyed their art lesson.To turn them into cards is truly generous of you and I would love to see their faces when they are presented with their art.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a wonderful and inspiring story, Karla. You are a very kind, caring and talented woman, and I feel blessed to have you as a friend. Looking forward to reading about their reactions to your most generous gift. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. fabulous idea and great art work!! Thanks for sharing it with us.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ah, Thanks everyone. We really enjoy our time there and have fun concockting new ideas together.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a wonderful generous thing to do! I'm sure the residents loved and appreciated the experience but I know you and your sister probably gained as much from it as they did! Bless you!

    ReplyDelete
  7. You are exactly right Kathleen, Renee and I have a lot of fun spending time with them.

    ReplyDelete
  8. A true gift from the heart you & your sister shared. I enjoyed reading this very much, thank you!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to leave a comment!

Popular Posts