To bring some holiday cheer to Chicago Union Station, Rob Bliss Creative partnered with Amtrak to create a magical piano that can respond in real time to its environment. (Pianist Andrew Blendermann played the tunes from a control room. But we still believe in magic.)
Long Beach Senior Arts Colony Decorates a Holiday Tree
A special holiday report from EngAGE C.O.O. Maureen Kellen-Taylor:
Santa, passing Long Beach on a test run for the important journey to come, dropped in to practice his “Ho-Ho-Hos,” and added candy canes, hugs, and more good cheer to the excitement at LBSAC.
That air of excitement was palpable, as Linda, Western Senior Housing Manager, conferred with Helene, EngAGE Arts Program Manger, about the details. This was the first tree-trimming in the beautiful piano lobby of the newest Senior Arts Colony in Long Beach.
Residents came in, wearing capes and fur hats in deference to the evening chill, and proudly brought ornaments made in artist Toni Ivashkov’s art class to add to the pile of shining glass balls. Elsie, a resident, pointed to several ornaments and asked us to guess what they were made from. We were stumped.
“Look! They are the little wires used for hangtags on clothing!” she said.
Different residents showed their artistic confections and confided what discards were used to create them. What a clever bunch of crafters!
The tree was surrounded by a crowd of people eagerly joining in the decorating. A beaming gentleman announced that he was a new man after losing 60 pounds through exercise and eating right. He was delighted to be able to climb the step ladder to place the highest decorations – with much advice from below.
The EngAGE art and gardening teachers were deep in conversation planning a joint project for the New Year.
The residents happily helped themselves from plates of cookies, and urns of coffee and hot cider lovingly put out by the staff. Then everyone settled in to listen to the music from the group, My New Best Friend, who ably added to the festivities.
All is bright at the Long Beach Senior Arts Colony! Take a look at these pictures to see for yourself. (You can click to enlarge them.)
[Email subscribers: click on the title of the post if you don’t see the pictures.]
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- Tree decorating at LBSAC.
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- He’s lost 60 lbs. & can now decorate the tree!
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- Santa hugging Elf Helene.
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- Ornament made from discards!
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- More beauty from discards.
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- Beautiful and unique.
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- “My New Best Friend” adds to the joyful atmosphere.
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- Lovely art class ornament.
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- Another lovely art class ornament.
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- The residents were super proud of their work and thrilled to display it!
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- Proud resident.
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- She made it!
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- Joint hosts Linda (WSH Mgr.) and Helene (EngAGE Arts P.M.)
Worth Repeating: Volunteer and Leave Your Mark on the World
“Worth Repeating” is a weekly feature on the EngAGE Blog that will bring you previous posts that we think are still timely, interesting, or just plain fun! From 12/18/12:
Have a touch of wanderlust and want to do some good for the world? “Global Volunteers works under the direction and at the invitation of local partners. Each service program engages you and your family in important community development projects, such as teaching English, planting and maintaining community gardens, building clinics and classrooms, caring for disabled toddlers – and so much more.” Baby Boomers make up about 30% of the volunteers that work through this organization. The opportunities are short-term (one to three weeks) and volunteers cover all of their expenses plus a fee. Learn more here.
Jazz Singer Marion Cowings Talks About the Blues
“Jazz singer Marion Cowings, 67, is a native New Yorker. His smooth baritone voice and considerable range has been delighting audiences around the world for decades. Mentored by the legendary Jon Hendricks, Cowings is a master of scat and vocal technique. He has appeared at the Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Blue Note, Village Vanguard, and as well as many prestigious venues abroad. Currently Cowings performs regularly at Small Jazz Club in the West Village.” (More here.) You can enjoy an entertaining six-part video series here, featuring Marion Cowings as he takes you through some of the greatest Blues tunes and shares his thoughts on the music. (Scroll down and start at the bottom; the videos are listed in reverse order.)
Embroidered Temari Spheres Created by 88-Year-Old Grandmother
Temari spheress are a form of folk art that originated in China and were introduced to Japan in the 7th century. The carefully hand-embroidered balls, often made from the thread of old kimonos, were created by parents or grandparents and given to children on New Year’s day as special gift. According to Wikipedia the balls would sometimes contain a secret handwritten wish for the child or some kind of noise-making object like a bell.
Flickr user NanaAkua photographed this amazing collection of geometric spheres created by her 88-year-old grandmother who began to master the art in her 60s. She has since created hundreds of them, nearly 500 of which you can see right here.
[Original post on Colossal.]
Community Photo Albums: October & November
We’re going to catch up on our monthly photo albums with two months combined!
October: You might think that all the regular art, craft, writing, music, computer, and exercise classes EngAGE offers at our communities would fill the calendar, but, as usual, this month there were extra activities, too! Residents enjoyed a yard sale, ping pong, costume events, a chili cook-off, and many Halloween celebrations. A volunteer lecturer from the LA Opera came to BSAC with costumes, masks, posters and music from their upcoming production of “Voltaire.” The Word Reading Series at NoHoSAC featured the first thespian collaboration between EngAGE and The Road Theatre Company Professional actors performed a well-received reading of a resident’s first play. Click on any of the photos below to enlarge them. [Email subscribers: click on the title of this post if you don’t see photos in your email.]
And there was lots of activity in November, including Thanksgiving dinners, weekly movie nights, a screenwriting class, Actors’ Boot Camp, holiday crafts, and more! NoHoSAC celebrated its 1st birthday with a well-attended event. On another occasion, LA Opera Docent, Dr. Judith Hyman, gave a lecture about their current production, “The Magic Flute.” Mentoring residents at Piedmont and their 4th grade buddies worked together to make aromatic holiday ornaments out of cinnamon and applesauce. The Colburn School Master Musician Dylan Hart played classical music with French horn and educated residents about the world of classical music. At LBSAC, Peter Katano from the Actor’s Fund presented “Covered California,” in which he explained navigating the new health care reforms. Arts Generation was the first public art show hosted by EngAGE at LBSAC. (As more than one resident put it, they had “the best day ever.”) Enjoy the photos!
End of an Era: Good-bye, VW Bus
For some of us of a certain age, the VW bus that Arlo Guthrie drove in “Alice’s Restaurant” was emblematic of the times (1969). It went through some design modifications over the years and eventually lost favor, ending international sales. But it continued to be popular in Brazil. The production of the Brazilian Volkswagen ends in 2013 with a production run of 600 Last Edition vehicles. The phase-out marks the end of an era which has lasted since 1935. Read more and see a brief news report here.
