46 MAY 11 - MAY 17, 2018 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
Creative Aging class brings
beauty to Bay Ridge
BY VICTORIA MERLINO
EDITORIAL@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
You’re never too old to learn
something new.
On April 25, the Bay Ridge
Library, 7223 Ridge Boulevard,
hosted a showcase of watercolor
work from its Creative Aging workshop,
sponsored by Apple Bank,
that coached seniors in art over the
course of three months. The showcase
was bittersweet,
running as one of the
last events before the
library closed for roof
repair on April 27.
The exhibit will be
on view at the 7415 Fifth
Avenue Apple Bank location
through May 31.
The Brooklyn Public
Library has offered Creative
Aging, a program
that conducts multi-session
art workshop for
those 50 and over, since
2011. This particular
class was led by professional
artist Nan Carey, who
Luz Acevedo, office manager at the library
and student Janet Flynn.
many students spoke of as being
helpful, patient and kind.
“The courses are incredible. It’s
really a way for people to be creative,
to meet new people and to learn
about how we see the world,” student
Lillian Rossi Maida said. “Nan
is an incredible teacher — in fact
all of the teachers I’ve had through
Creative Aging have been absolutely
extraordinary.”
She was not well experienced with
art before she started taking classes
at the Brooklyn Public Library,
Maida said. “I think it’s almost like
magic,” she said of the class.
Janet Flynn, another student, has
taken other courses with Carey before
this most-recent class. “Nan is an
incredible teacher and artist, and has
certainly enhanced and increased
my experience. And it’s a fabulous
project for us older citizens,” she said.
Subjects of the final paintings
included bowls of fruit, eggplants,
flowers and pears. Students sat in a
circle during the showcase, getting
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photos by Victoria Merlino
Thao Zore with her painting.
up in turn to say what
they liked about the class,
thanking Carey and the
senior assistant the library
also provided for
the class, and pointing
out their paintings.
For Carey, the class is
rewarding.
“It’s really great because they’re
really enthusiastic and there’s a variety
of beginners or people who are
really accomplished artists but they
have never used watercolor before.
So, I really like introducing people
to the medium; it’s a great medium,”
she said.
Yvonne Zhou, the supervising librarian
at the Bay Ridge Library, said
that the art program at the library is
its most popular. “As a library, we feel
like if we can provide some services
and programs for our local people,
we are very, very pleased to do that,”
she said, mentioning that she likes to
prioritize senior programming at the
library as there is a large population
of seniors in Bay Ridge.
Many at the event also thanked
the program’s sponsor, Apple Bank.
“We’re very appreciative of local support.
That means a lot,” Zhou said of
the sponsorship.
While the library is closed for now,
Zhou said they are hoping to have it
open again in 10 weeks.
The art.
Maria Casamassa with her painting. Nan Carey, class instructor.