A variety of paper, glue sticks, scissors and photos were scattered atop tables during an art class at the Shoreline/Lake Forest Park Senior Center Jan. 30. Most of the class participants appeared to be deep in thought over the supplies.
At one end of a table, Shoreline resident Barbara Goerger sorted through photos she took while visiting her daughter’s exotic fruit farm in Queensland, Australia, during September.
“I never have a plan, it just happens,” Goerger said about her creative process. She set aside a completed page with a photo and description of a seeded, grape-like fruit called Jaboticaba and turned her attention to photos of other types of fruit such as pineapple and star fruit.
Goerger’s project is one example of how seniors in the Seniors Making Art: Illustrated Memoirs class are using their own photos, words and images to create their own personal books once a week at the Senior Center.
It’s scrapbooking with a twist, according to class instructor Constance Perenyi who has taught Seniors Making Art classes for the past 12 years.
“Seniors have amazing stories,” she said. “We just have to be open to hearing them.”
One story Joan Huber will tell through her illustrated memoir is about her quilt projects, including one made from Kimono fabric and another that her mother began in the 1960s. The black pages will be accented with actual scraps from her quilts so as to not take away from the bright orange, magenta, green and turquoise hues of many of her projects, she said.
“I’m a color girl,” she said. “These quilts are so elaborate, I don’t want too much fussing in the background. The fabric seemed the way to go.”
While most participants work with their personal photos, class participant Karen Thielke of Shoreline routinely flips through magazines for inspiration. A completed page of her cooking-related project consists of a colored magazine clipping of different breads against black and white cutouts of several covers of cook books she owns. Future pages might be constructed around desserts or international dishes, she said.
“This gives me another chance to look through the magazines,” Thielke said. “You never know what you’re doing until you start.”
The class helps organize memories of family members and places she’s lived, according to Shoreline resident Joyce Costa.
“I saved these (photos) for years,” she said as she glued pieces of colorful tissue paper on the back of several family photographs.
“It’s so great to have a class like this because it inspires you.”
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