Creative Aging in New York State Libraries
Funded Programs 2012

Lifetime Arts, Inc. and Westchester Library System (WLS) are pleased to announce the allocation of funds to libraries, as part of Creative Aging in New York State Libraries, A Regional Model with National Applicability, a two-year National Leadership Demonstration Project, funded by the U.S Institute of Museum and Library Services.

This innovative project supports collaborations between professional teaching artists and public libraries through the implementation of free instructional arts programs for older adults. Designed and administered by Lifetime Arts, Inc., the project builds the capacity of libraries to serve an aging population by providing expert technical assistance, professional development, and access to resources and funding.

Over the next two years, the project will support programming in four New York State library systems - serving 1800 older adults in 60 libraries. Partnering library systems include Brooklyn Public Library, Clinton Essex Franklin Library System in northern New York State, New York Public Library and Westchester Library System.

Each of the selected libraries will host a workshop series of at least eight sequential sessions and all will culminate with a public event. The workshops in this cycle include those in literary, performing and visual arts. Additional support is provided by the Helen Andrus Benedict Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts.

Calendar of Culminating Events for Summer/Fall/Winter Programs 2012

Clinton, Essex, Franklin Library System

DODGE MEMORIAL LIBRARY, ROUSES POINT

Painting a Landscape in Pastels
Anne Gregson, Teaching Artist

In this eight-week course, participants will gain a working knowledge of how to use watercolors, composition and design, personal expression, critiquing art and showing it. We will use handouts, examples, in-class painting exercises, group critiques, discussion and projects done at home. Students will create a portable portfolio. The participants will conclude with a lesson in framing and how to put together a reception and show. Participants will learn how to paint with watercolors, learning what tools and materials work best, practicing a variety of painting techniques, learning the principles of composition, design and color theory, how to develop an individual artistic voice, how to participate in a group critique and how to frame a painting and put on an art reception/show.

September - November 2012

For Information Call: 518-532-7737

SCHROON LAKE PUBLIC LIBRARY

Beginning to Paint Using Watercolors
Connie Cassevaugh, Teaching Artist

A series of 8 consecutive workshops designed to give the older student the confidence and knowledge to produce, mat, frame, hang and exhibit their landscape painting. This series teaches students how to approach painting a landscape in pastels. Each student will produce a minimum of two paintings; one of which will be hung at a culminating exhibit and reception at the sponsoring library. Students will learn how to find the right subject for their painting and how to transpose it to paper. Students will learn: perspective, atmospheric perspective, halation effects, basic composition, color, focal points and the technical advantages and disadvantages of the pastel medium. They will learn about papers, pigments and applications methods. Students will learn the different methods of preserving their art.

September - October 2012

For Information Call: 518-297-6242

WELLS MEMORIAL LIBRARY, UPPER JAY

Observational Drawing
Grace Potthast, Teaching Artist

The proposed project is a series of 10 weekly sessions of 2 hours each on Observational Drawing. Participants will receive a strong foundation in observational drawing skills. The workshop will provide the student with the skills necessary to interpret in line and value, a realistic representation of the subject. Each class will involve group critique of work produced and discussion of challenges and developing skills. Participants will explore and talk about examples of drawings by accomplished artists.

September - December 2012

For Information Call: 518-946-2644

Westchester Library System

YONKERS RIVERFRONT PUBLIC LIBRARY

Share, Shine and Celebrate: a Creative Writing Project for Older Adults
Frank Ingrasciotta, Teaching Artist

In this creative writing workshop series older adults write a short story about a life experience. Everyone has a story to tell. Our stories shape our lives and show the ways in which we connect to others. Our stories express our deepest longings, our greatest fears and our outstanding moments of joy. Our stories define who we are and our place in the big world.

A series of 8 sessions led by a teaching artist will provide an opportunity for participants to explore their inner wisdom and creative spirit. Through creative writing, dialogue, narrative and poetry, participants will explore their life stories and give them literary purpose. The culminating event for Share, Shine and Celebrate will be a performance by the participants celebrating their work. They will present their stories as a collage of life experiences and each participant will read part of the collage.

June -August 2012

For Information Call: 914-337-1500 ext. 492

SOMERS LIBRARY

Memories Alive: Movable Books for Future Generations
Kim McCormack, Teaching Artist

Learn about the origins and history of movable books and be able to make your own hardbound book with pop-up illustrations, now referred to as "paper engineering". According to Wikipedia, "The audience for early movable books were [sic] adults, not children. While it can be documented that books with movable parts had been used for centuries, they were almost always used in scholarly works. Some pop-up books receive attention as literary works for the degree of artistry or sophistication which they entail." Workshop participants will share their memories of powerful, influential moments in their lives and create a wonderful, personal reflection in a unique book format for generations to come. They will each create their own hardbound, paper-engineered book with a recorded sound module incorporated on one page, so generations to come will know their story and hear their voice. This is primarily a visual arts project with additional components of written captions and a short audio recording if they choose.

July - August 2012

For Information Call: 914-232-5717

MOUNT KISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY

A Box of Memories
Kim McCormack, Teaching Artist

In this course participants will explore select memories and create a visual depiction of a life story. Louise Nevelson and Joseph Cornell, two well-known American artists, will be our inspiration as participants explore 3-dimensional displays of expression and their assemblage techniques, called Shadow Box Art. Participants will examine these two different approaches to using a box structure as a vessel to display memories, ideas, concepts or self- portraits. Participants will analyze and discuss these two formats, as well as other historic, cultural and artistic uses of the same shadow box art form. Creating their own individual shadow boxes, participants are going to explore the concept of mapping one's life, a timeline. We have all had moments, places and people in our lives that have had a huge impact on who we are where we have come from and the path we have taken. Using a multi-sensory approach in our decade activities, the participants will explore our memories from different decades. This will help to define ideas and memories to use as a concept for a shadow box creation. Participants will create an individual shadow box, which will reflect their concept by choosing symbols, images and objects to tell their story.

July- August 2012

For Information Call: 914-864-0137

RUTH KEELER MEMORIAL LIBRARY (North Salem)

Drawing Workshop
Maggie Zander Orling, Teaching Artist

Through this basic drawing class, participants will start off sketching with pencil to create simple forms and progress through the class acquiring technical skills that will enable them to draw objects, things from nature, basically anything with confidence. The goal of this class is for each participant to achieve a level of comfort with the materials and a mastery of specific techniques while developing his or her own individual style.

July -September 2012

For Information Call: 914-669-5161

JOHN C. HART MEMORIAL LIBRARY (Shrub Oak)

The Family of Women: A Creative Writing Adventure into the Journey of Women's Lives
Mary Crescenzo, Teaching Artist

In this ten-week workshop series, participants will gain proficiency and personal achievement in writing through the examination of works of famous writers, directed but open-ended writing exercises, and explanation of techniques and vocabulary pertinent to various forms of writing. With particular attention to the unique ways in which women navigate phases of life, the participants will find inspiration in personal remembrances, observations of the world - past and present, and in generational reflection. To encourage communication skills and social engagement, each session will begin and end with collaborative writing and discussion. The course will have three components that will be applied in all sessions: skill building and the practice of concepts learned, inspiration and writing, and practice of the critique and editing process. Throughout this project, the concepts of role, place, and the contribution of women will be examined and acknowledged. The culminating event, a staged reading, will use related music, movement, and personal objects as a backdrop for the reading/performance.

September - November 2012

For Information Call: 914-245-5262, ext. 245

MAMARONECK PUBLIC LIBRARY

Stories from My Life: An Illustrated Book Workshop
Judith Dupre, Teaching Artist

In the completely ADA compliant Mamaroneck Public Library facility, a ten-session workshop will focus on memory, art and writing. Workshop participants will select memorable photographs from their own collections, and use them to tell, write, and illustrate stories from their lives. Writing prompts, textual and visual exercises, and group sharing will stimulate individual reflection and help participants organize their thoughts and photos. The edited texts and photos will be combined into individual printed books that will honor and celebrate the participants' lives.

September - November 2012

For Information Call: 914-698-1250 ext. 3

WARNER LIBRARY (Tarrytown)

This is My Song
Maryl Cannon Apadula, Teaching Artist

"This is My Song", a ten week workshop will provide a supportive social environment in which participants will work together to prepare and perform a concert of vocal music from different eras and cultures. Together, both experienced and novice singers will explore the many facets of vocal performance, and emerge with a better understanding of and appreciation for the hard work that goes into making singing look easy! Participants will explore choral music as an art form, learn and master skills to perform in a concert as a culminating event. The workshop will combine music rehearsal with skill building in the most important areas of vocal musical performance: understanding music notation; proper singing diction and vowel formation; and most importantly, healthy vocal production. Working as a group, Participants will learn the relationship between abdominal core strength and vocal confidence. "This is My Song" will culminate with a concert performance of the music learned in the workshop, which will enable the participants to showcase their new found musical abilities. The workshop is suitable for anyone who enjoys singing in a group, who likes to sing but is reticent about singing for others, or who thinks singing as a social experience sounds like fun. Along with developing a better understanding of how to sing, participants will become more discerning listeners, and will develop a new familiarity with music from different eras and cultures.

September - November 2012

For Information Call: 914-631-7671

HENDRICK HUDSON FREE LIBRARY (Montrose)

Everything Old Is New Again! Let's Sing the American Song Book
Mary Crescenzo, Teaching Artist

Through a ten week program, meeting once a week, with two-hour sessions for each meeting, participants will lift our voices in popular songs of years gone by. Through specific vocal techniques for better pitch, breathing, relaxation, tone, dynamics, etc., works of composers such as Gershwin, Berlin, Arlen, etc., will come alive through group sing and solos with a cappella and recorded accompaniment. Through a sequentially progressive art-of-singing process, participants will gain confidence and proficiency in the joy of singing with specific and connected vocal techniques. Process will be emphasized and positive critique techniques will be shared with the group in assessing participants' progress. Participatory learning will be encouraged and personal experience as a source for inspiration will be highlighted. This project will culminate in a performance for the public. For the culminating performance, participants will work on techniques for public performance.

September -November 2012

For Information Call: 914-739-5654, ext. 304

BRIARCLIFF MANOR PUBLIC LIBRARY

Face to Face: Creative Portraits
Kim McCormack, Teaching Artist

In a judgment-free, safe environment participants will face any fears around drawing and better understand and strengthen who they are as creative individuals. This hands-on experience requires no previous art skill, other than the ability to make a simple doodle. This step-by-step instructional sequence will teach everyone how to create a variety of basic drawing effects such as patterning and shading to create light and dark tones as well as familiarize participants with the elements and principals of art and design. They will discuss, share and explore how to effectively apply these skills and techniques to their final project. Using the library's extensive art book collection, participants will look at many different ways artists express themselves through portraiture. Comparing different styles, participants will then enhance their drawn portraits using different mediums: colored pencil, watercolor, oil pastel, and collage. Two artists, Romare Bearden and Frida Kahlo, will be our inspiration to create a final project, a large portrait incorporating photographs, images, coloring, painting and collage/assemblage. They will choose the subject for their portrait and apply the different learned techniques to create a single unique artwork. Course participants can expect to use not only the intuitive, "right-brain" traditionally associated with creative thinking but also will engage and involve the "left-brain" in analysis and constructive evaluation of their artwork.

October - November 2012

For Information Call: 914-941-7072, ext. 6

SCARSDALE PUBLIC LIBRARY

Memory, Narrative, Image: Oral History as Inspiration for Making Art
Diane Cherr & Mara Mills, Teaching Artists

In this eight-week workshop, participants will explore their memories and family histories, first in narrative format as oral stories shared with each other and then using collage, mixed media, and assemblage techniques. Each participant will build and illustrate their memories in image and word. All participants will feel welcome to explore narrative and art in this supportive setting. Participants will explore a wide range of artists including Romare Bearden, Louise Bourgeois, Joseph Cornell, William Kentridge, Marc Chagall, Faith Ringgold, Judy Chicago, Grandma Moses, Andrew Wyeth, and Judith Brodsky. The artists will be used as examples and inspiration for portraits, family landscapes and objects, dreams, and memory. Appropriate artists' works will be used as introductions to workshop narratives and art projects in a variety of exciting media.

October - November 2012

For Information Call: 914-722-1304