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Creative Aging Workshop

Presented by Hillsborough librarian Jen Sulligan.

Specially created for adults age 55+, creative aging programs honor older adults as creative and social learners. Skills-based arts learning, in a socially supportive environment, yields multiple benefits for older learners—not the least of which is its intrinsic value in reducing social isolation. There is great potential in older adulthood, as it is a time to grow, reflect, and make meaning. Let's celebrate this wonderful, dynamic, creative stage of life! A different visual arts technique or medium will be explored during each Creative Aging Workshop session. Sometimes we will learn about artists or art movements as well. 

Supplies: All supplies will be provided by the library, no need to bring your own. Also, creating art can be messy, so please keep that in mind when choosing the clothing you will wear to the program. 

Schedule: Be sure to register for each date you wish to attend. 

December 5: Art journals - Handcraft a portable accordion-fold journal and explore the ways you can express yourself creatively on the go.

January 9: Assemblage art - Take a close look at the work of Louise Nevelson, known for her abstract sculptures made from cast-off pieces of wood uniformly coated with paint. Then, create your own assemblage from wood pieces and other cast-off objects on a panel. 

February 6: Sumi-e painting - The Japanese word for black ink painting, sumi-e is an ancient East Asian writing and painting style that employs brush and black ink on paper. Gradations of black in sumi art are achieved by using black ink at full strength or dissolving it in water to lighten it. Emphasis is placed on the beauty of each individual stroke of the brush. Using sumi painting papers made from rice, traditional sumi ink made from pine or vegetable oil soot, and bamboo sumi brushes, practice strokes to capture the spirit (Ch’i) of nature rather than a photographic likeness.

March 6: Painted story quilts - Artist and author Faith Ringgold is renowned for her painted story quilts. She surrounds her narrative paintings with a quilted fabric border, which creates art that tells a story in color, texture, and pattern. Students select a story to illustrate - either from a book, family history, or an experience of their own - then create their selected scene on fabric using watercolor pencils and pastels.

About the instructor: Jen Sulligan earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from The College Of New Jersey with concentrations in studio art, art education, and art therapy. She also holds an the Educational Services certificate from the New Jersey Department of Education.

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