Tomorrow Center (TC) junior, Terrell Hopson pointed out his art projects with a smile at the heART bridges second annual art show last Friday.
Hopson is one of 12 Tomorrow Center student artists participating in the show.
Fourteen ‘elder artists’ are also participants in heART bridges, an “intergenerational project of creative expression” designed and facilitated by Debra Fink Bachelder for the Tomorrow Center.
Hopson said he is now interested in art and would like to do art when he goes to college. He enjoyed the “Pop art” project the most, but also liked the weaving project a lot. He said projects are fun and Bachelder also teaches the history of the artists and their technique. They have studied artists like Kandinsky, Picasso and Lichtenstein.
Tomorrow Center Community and Family Coordinator, Susie Sexton said the elders, many of whom are retired teachers, thought at first they would just be mentors or tutors for the students. When they learned they would be doing art projects along with the students, they protested that they had no artistic ability and were ready to back out.
After both the elders and students established that art was new for both of them, they got acquainted and got engaged with projects and friendships.
Bachelder calls the Tomorrow Center art room a sanctuary “where both generations gather to encourage each other’s creativity, share and compare stories and have people fuss over you when you walk in.”
Book art and origami were new forms of art on display as well as fiber art and papier Mache and watercolor. Bachelder said students and elders alike enjoyed the beaded prayer project of fiber artist, Sonja Clark of Chicago. The idea came from
Ghana of sewing a pocket and putting in a dream, a wish or a prayer before sewing it shut.
Bachelder thanked the Tomorrow Center Board for funding heART bridges for a second term this year for the intergenerational group. She said the Ohio Arts Council Creative Aging Initiative recognized the success of the pilot program last year and provided funds to extend the program through the end of the school year for students and through June for elder artists.
The Amelia and Nicola Giuliani Foundation provided funds to extend the program longer to allow students to come into the art room during study hall. Bachelder thanked Gleaners who contributed many materials and tools for art projects.
Community elders exhibiting included: Marjorie Graham, June Hawk, Janet Bedwell Deb Shifflet, Marnie Buckel, Rosemary Levings, Clara McClenathan, Linda Ruehrmund, Barb McElwee, Jill Grubb, Pat Thomas, Judy Graham, Flo Horton and JoAnn Fitzgerald.
TC student artists include: Autumn Atherton, Kassidy Merrick, Tyran Mosby, Terrell Hopson, Marcus Cover, Kevin Lowe, Krystina Ehrlich, Emily Gerfen, Gabby Johnson, Autumn Lawhun, Colton May and Josh Milner.
