Samantha Wendell with her portrait of Johnny Winter (one of many rock artists she has painted) at the colony’s first art exhibit, “Reimagining Life.”
Thea Saks is a young artist whose company, The Mighty Squirm, specializes in apparel and art prints with designs inspired by folklore and historical periods of interest, especially the 19th century. When she went to NoHoSAC, not only was she pleasantly surprised to enjoy the art show she reviews below, but she also discovered that her expectations about senior artists (expectations shared by many) were a bit off the mark. In her words:
“When I went to the NoHo Senior Arts Colony last week to cover the current photography show, I wasn’t all that psyched to go. The show was open to photographers of all ages, and I expected a community free-for-all. I ended up not only admiring the dynamic photography and the professional way it was presented, but also getting interested in everything that’s happening at this place.
“One series of photographs depicts a graffiti artist at work on a building—cooler than I expected for a show at a senior center (shame on me—but it’s the truth). It turns out that the photographer, Tyrone Polk, is himself a senior in residence at the colony. And the more I talked to Amanda Talbot, the program manager for the colony, and Maureen Keller-Taylor, chief operating officer of EngAGE (more about EngAGE below), the better I understood that many of the residents are professionals of great reputation in the arts who are still hard at work in their fields of expertise and happen to be 62 or older (that’s a requisite for living at the colony).”
Read her complete review here. And thanks, Thea!
“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 6/4/12:
A new study indicates that music therapy may reduce anxiety more than drugs before surgery. “According to [neuroscientist Daniel] Levitin, music may cause neurons in the primitive part of the brain, called the brain steam, to sync with the beat. A slow beat leads to relaxation and a quicker beat increases focus and alertness.” Read more 
You probably know of Dolly Parton (67), the singer/songwriter/actress, but did you know about her other role as a philanthropist? She’s delivered nearly 50 million free books to children’s homes. “Called Imagination Library, the program started in 1996 in one one rural Tennessee county and has spread to 1,400 communities across the United States, England and Canada.” 
“At what age do people hit their stride professionally? Categorically speaking, athletes, engineers, politicians, television writers, salesmen, and actresses all have varying norms and shelf lives, sometimes affected by physical attributes or societal expectations. Seemingly immune to ageist perceptions and traditional notions of retirement are artists. A historical look reveals that a striking number have been highly productive and turned out some of their best work late into old age, including Bellini (who died at 86), Michelangelo (d. 89), Titian (d. between 86 and 103, depending on your source), Ingres (d. 86), Monet (d. 86), Matisse (d. 84), Picasso (d. 91), O’Keeffe (d. 98), and Bourgeois (d. 98).” Read much more in 
Filmmakers Drea (pronounced Dray) Cooper and Zackary Canepari have produced a collection of three- to ten-minute video vignettes called California Is a Place. One of their films, the ten-minute long “Aquadettes,” was chosen for the Short Film program at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.
