The Online Art Class that Kept a Group of Senior Ladies Sane During COVID
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, 71-year-old Sharon Styles couldn’t wait until Fridays. That’s when she and eight other ladies would gather via Zoom for their weekly Successful Aging Creativity Circle program, offered by The Salvation Army Kroc Center Chicago. They would chat, make an art project, and basically help each other stay sane during the long, isolating months of lockdown.
“I loved every last project we did,” Sharon said (some of her projects are pictured below). Most of them – including a clay bird, a big construction paper flower, and various drawings – now proudly adorn her computer room. “Since I was a kid, I’ve loved to draw. This was right up my alley.” She added that working on the art projects was a stress reliever, something sorely needed during the pandemic.
The other thing that was sorely needed was the company. “We wanted to keep our seniors engaged,” said Sharri Rogers, the group’s facilitator who also serves as the senior line dance instructor at Kroc. She said about 90 percent of their seniors live alone, so when COVID-19 kept everyone at home – especially this vulnerable population – they were quite isolated and lonely.
The Foundation for Art and Healing approached the Kroc Center about offering this Successful Aging Creativity Circle program and provided all the art projects and supplies. Kroc usually offers a robust seniors’ program, with classes and gatherings every day of the week. This seemed like a great way to keep some of them connected during the pandemic.
When Sharri began recruiting members for the class, she said many of them were reluctant, claiming they couldn’t draw or aren’t very creative. She reassured them they didn’t need to have any artistic skills. “The whole idea wasn’t about drawing but keeping them engaged,” she said.
The participants, nine ladies ages 70 to 87, picked up all their art supplies before the class began. Then each Friday morning, they signed into Zoom, where Sharri greeted them with inspiring music, questions about their week, and a time of prayer before they launched into that week’s art project.
On the week they did freehand sketching, one woman told the rest of the group she might have to tell them what it is when she was done. “But she didn’t. It was really good,” Sharri said, adding it was a chair in the woman’s home. “Some of them really surprised themselves.”
When they created with clay, the participants made candy dishes and flowerpots. “They outdid themselves,” Sharri said. At other times, she said they doubted themselves and she encouraged them not to compare their work to others’. “Art is an expression,” she told them. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. God gave us all minds and ideas and creativity. Thankfully, they were always willing to try.”
Sharon, who also attends the Kroc Center church, used to be active in Kroc’s seniors ministry and said she missed regularly hanging out in the seniors’ room, listening to music and doing puzzles with the others, during COVID. “This group met a need,” she said. When the group concluded, she said she really missed it. “It meant a lot to me to gather and talk with the ladies instead of just sitting around during COVID.” And The Salvation Army? “I just love it,” she said.
At the end of the day, Sharri said her goal for the group was to inspire them, provide a sense of self and community, show them they can do anything they put their minds to. “And show them some love,” she said. It clearly worked. The eight-week program is now done, but they want to continue, now hopefully in person with the COVID restrictions lifting. They’ve discussed putting their artwork on display at the Kroc Center. And, of course, this new group needs a name. Knowing their creative skills, it’s pretty clear they’ll come up with something good.