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Art project brings together kids, seniors
By MICHELE MILLER, Times Staff Writer
HOLIDAY -- At age 84, Virginia Wise spends a good share of her time reminiscing. "I think when you get older you have more memories," she said, "or at least you dwell on them more." These past few weeks may have had Ms. Wise looking back more often than usual. As a participant in an intergenerational art program called HeART Exchange, she and 14 other residents of the Sunshine Christian Home have spent time using paints and colored pencils to create a self-portrait silhouette, complete with the artist's signature and autobiography. The seniors also worked on a memory tree with leaves depicting the people and events in their lives that made them proud. "When I was young I wanted to be Amelia Earhart. Those were the dreams I had . . . of flying in an airplane," Ms. Wise said. "I wonder what the young people dream nowadays." On Friday, Ms. Wise had a chance to find out what youngsters yearn for when the other participants in the project -- 15 elementary students from Dayspring Academy in New Port Richey -- came to Sunshine to meet with the seniors and share their own art projects. The youngsters' dreams for the future were outlined in autobiographies pasted on their watercolor self-portraits. Another project, hung on the walls in the Activity Center at Sunshine Christian Home, had the kids writing their heart's desires on neon-colored paper sculptures laid out on black construction paper. "A lot of them didn't know what they wanted to do, but they all knew they wanted cell phones," said Jamie Wojciechowski, the art teacher from Dayspring who worked with both the seniors and the students on a weekly basis. Besides cell phones, the kids' dreams included being in the Olympics, going to college, getting good jobs, being famous, having a happy life and making lots of money and good friends. The 10-week program, funded through a grant from the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, represents the first phase of a Living Legacy program sponsored by the Pasco Arts Council. "We wanted to have a conversation with art to bridge the generations," said Wojciechowski, who applied for the grant and also teaches art classes at the Pasco Art Council. "Both groups have been enthusiastic artists," she said. "The kids loved it. For the seniors I think it provided a sense of dignity in their lives and not focus so much on what's in their present -- illness and such. I think it helped them see that they are still a part of the community at large, that they have something to say." Third-grader Kendall Machledt, who helped hand out cookies and carnations to the seniors during their hourlong get-together, said she enjoyed working on her self-portrait using her favorite colors: purple, blue and light green. Keith Osborn had fun on the self-portrait, too. "It only took me a half-hour to finish," said the fourth-grader, whose autobiography included family vacations to Missouri and a very important fact. "P.S.," he wrote, "I'm always hungry."
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From today's Pasco Times |
