MOUNT VERNON — When artist and art teacher Amy Flynn offered to conduct an art class for residents of the Ohio Eastern Star Home Community, she didn’t know how many people might be interested. But Flynn, who is also the development coordinator at OESH, said she was pleasantly surprised by a good turnout, and the classes will continue monthly.
The word “fun” came up again and again at the opening reception on Monday afternoon in the OESH dining room. On display were artworks depicting in soft pastels — “a forgiving medium,” said Flynn — vases of flowers and bowls of fruit, each one framed and resting on its own easel.
For Mary Chapman, 84, it was her very first attempt at making art.
“I thought I was going to be like a fourth-grade student, and I was,” said Chapman. “But [Flynn] is a good teacher. I left them a piece of paper that day, and they framed it and now it looks really nice.”
Chapman is in rehabilitation at OESH, recovering from a broken ankle, and will be going home soon. She said, however, that she hopes she’ll be allowed to come back to enjoy next month’s class with her new friends.
Lois Thatcher’s family liked her drawing so much that they took it home before the reception, so she replaced it with a charcoal drawing she created some years before.
“I’ve been drawing ever since I was a kid,” said Thatcher, 79.
“I draw flies,” dead-panned Dave Endsley, 82, who nonetheless had taken the class with his wife, Dorothy, 80.
“At first we said, ‘Oh, we couldn’t do that,’” said Dorothy. “But Amy does miracles. She had a big easel and she showed us the different shapes and how to draw them. My fruit drawings are better than Dave’s, but his flowers are better than mine.”
“I never did anything like this,” said Avis Diehl, 89, another first-time artist. “And it wasn’t easy, but I think it’s a lot of fun.”
Activity director Sonjia Campbell said the opening reception was all the buzz at breakfast on Monday, as residents anticipated that afternoon’s event.
“They were so cute,” Campbell said. “The talk at breakfast was nothing but art.”
“This is a neat opportunity for them to show off their talent, and to try new things,” said Flynn. “I enjoyed seeing their faces, the confidence they gained making something to be proud of. And of course it was so much fun.”
