They say art has no age limits. The folks at Wrentham’s Senior Center would probably agree. The center’s popular art class has been meeting since 1999.
Of course, the participants have changed and the class has grown and evolved, but the sense of creativity and connectivity amongst class devotees has remained strong, according to Fran Padula, the center’s Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator.
The senior artists, said Padula, “have helped make this class what it is. They share their passions with other artists. You learn something from everybody.”
Ben Macomber, the class instructor, has been teaching the Wrentham seniors for about 10 years. A former visual arts teacher for area school systems, Macomber is now retired but spends much of his time leading art classes at senior centers and rehabilitation centers, as well as at the Rhode Island School of Design, the Attleboro Art Museum, and the Rhode Island Watercolor Society.
The class, he says, includes some very advanced students, as well as some who haven’t painted since high school. He acknowledges he lets the class lead the way, describing his philosophy as “taking them from where they’re at and helping them as much as I can, more or less encouraging them or pointing out a few things on how they can enhance their own work.”
Macomber takes the summer off from teaching, but his students enjoy themselves so much they keep meeting anyway.
On September 3, the class exhibited its artwork at the Old Fiske Museum during Wrentham Day, the annual community celebration held on the town common. Open one day a month, the museum showcases paintings and other works from area artists, as well as Wrentham history and artifacts. According to Cultural Council member Joe Levesque, the walls were getting bare as the artwork on exhibit had sold during the last few open houses.
Levesque, a participant in Macomber’s class, thought it would be fun for the group to share their artwork with the community in a new exhibit at the museum.
This is not the first time the senior center art class has had an exhibit. For the last few years, the artists have showcased their work at the Fiske Library in a spring show.
According to class attendees Lyn and Paul Freeman, participating in an art show has been beneficial to the senior artists. Both husband and wife have art backgrounds, but believe artists of all skill levels get validation from a public exhibit.
“Most people have a hard time sharing their work,” said Paul. “They keep it home and it’s not on display. It doesn’t take long to build up a supply of artwork and it gets buried somewhere and nobody ever sees it.”
“I think everyone likes to see their work actually hung on a wall,” added Lyn. “And now we’re at the museum,” she said, referring to the Old Fiske exhibit. “Now we can all say we had paintings that are museum-worthy,” she joked.
Padula concurs on the benefits of exhibiting artwork, especially at the library’s spring show.
“Some of the artists were never in an art show and it really is grand,” she said. “The lighting at the library, the easels….they’re all dressed up and their spouses and grandkids attend. It’s fun. They get highlighted.”
Some of the artists have sold their pieces, while others give them away. And some don’t really want to part with their creations at all.
“If you don’t really want to sell something, you put a high price on it,” shared Lyn Freeman.
Macomber added, “When they do sell something, boy they can’t wait to tell me about it. So I say, ‘now you’re a professional, you’ve sold something. You’re no amateur,’” he quipped.
Mostly though, the class focuses on the process and the camaraderie, not the end result.
“It’s a very social group,” affirmed Padula. “They’re always laughing. They have a good time.”
The Wrentham Senior Center Art Group meets on Tuesdays from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. For more information, contact the center at 508-384-5425.
Issue Date:
October, 2016
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