It's never too late to get started in the art world. Seniors can begin second careers in the arts during retirement after leading working lives. Grandma Moses, who gained world renown for her folk art, is the most famous late-blooming painter, living past the age of 100.
Dick Meehan, a resident at The Evergreens in Moorestown, NJ, discovered the late-in-life artistic impulse in his community and published a book on it, entitled “Focus on the Arts at The Evergreens.” The book details 37 artists, most between ages 80 and 100, along with personal writings on their artistic aptitudes. Included are 350 photographs of the facility's residential artists.
“Many attended formal classes in their chosen hobby earning college degrees,” Meehan told the MoorestownPatch. “Most of the artists found their activity to be relaxing and therapeutic,” he told the media source.
A featured artist, Chuck Perry, 94, is a WWII veteran who completed a distinguished career with Boeing Aircraft. After retiring, he went on to study art at California State University, graduating with two degrees in the fine arts, painting and sculpture. “After I retired, I studied art at California State University because I always liked to work with my hands,” Perry told the MoorestownPatch.
Being involved in art is a perfect pursuit for residents in Continuing Care and Assisted Living.
Art lives on with seniors.