“Aging Creatively,” a free art program for those with memory loss and their caregivers, starts this month at Northwind Art.
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“Aging Creatively,” a free art program for those with memory loss and their caregivers, starts this month at Northwind Art.
Funding comes from the Olympic Area Agency on Aging, which is sponsoring Aging Creatively programming for the coming year.
Teaching artist Jodi Ericksen will conduct the first of the free art workshops at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 25, at the Northwind Art School at Fort Worden Historical State Park.
Port Townsend-based Eriksen will facilitate a simple art activity involving painting or mixed media for the one-hour classes, which will be offered on the first and fourth Tuesdays of each month.
All supplies are provided for the workshops, and no previous art experience is needed to participate.
Ericksen will also guide free Aging Creatively gallery talks once a month at 1 p.m. at Northwind Art’s Jeanette Best Gallery at 701 Water St. in Port Townsend, starting April 14. These talks will provide time for participants to take in the two-and three-dimensional art on view.
Light refreshments will be served, and no prior art knowledge is required.
The schedule of activities includes 1 p.m. art workshops on March 25, April 1, April 22, May 6, May 22, June 3 and June 24.
The 1 p.m. gallery conversations are set for April 14, May 12 and June 9, with more to be announced into the coming year.
“Art activities have been shown to give people who are experiencing memory loss some really wonderful benefits,” said Diane Urbani, spokesperson for Northwind Art.
Ericksen, a lifelong artist, works in a variety of media, from linocut printing to fiber art, and is also a student of neuroscience who’s earning her master’s degree in counseling from Seattle University.
“The more I learn about dementia, the more I understand the importance of connection, and of what art does for the brain,” Ericksen said. “It has been shown to slow the process [of memory loss] for some people.”
Northwind Art’s Aging Creatively program is based in part on a similar program at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle.
The classes and gallery talks, Urbani said, are designed to give every participant a sense of accomplishment and community.
Advanced signups are required for Aging Creatively, and can be completed online at Northwind Art’s website.
