When Ann Filmer, the executive director of the Riverside Arts Center, mentioned to Diane Claussen that the center was looking to create an art club for senior citizens, “It was like a total lightbulb went off. A bright bulb of excitement,” Claussen told the Landmark.
Now, Claussen, who is retired after more than 45 years working as an art therapist, leads the RAC’s senior art club on Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to noon. The club runs for six weeks at a time with one week in between, Claussen said. The first session started in June. A second session is set to start on Friday, Aug. 22.
Registration costs a one-time fee per six weeks of $75 for Riverside residents or $80 for non-residents. Filmer said the fee covers no more than the costs of the center’s art supplies for the club and Claussen’s compensation.
“I’ve had a background of always doing things related to art with people, and being a senior as well, this was, to me, a fantastic opportunity to be back to contributing and sharing,” Claussen said.
While the RAC handles the art side of things, the program is run in tandem with the Riverside Parks and Recreation department, which hosts the club in its office at 43 E. Quincy St.
Filmer, who is the center’s first full-time executive director, said she had envisioned creating a program just for seniors, but that it came together after she was introduced to Claussen by Sabine Knauss, the president of the Berwyn Public Art Initiative.
“That’s when it popped in my head: ‘Diane may be the perfect person for this senior arts club,’” she said. “The idea is for continued engagement, that it is a program that is ongoing,” rather than a one-time class.
Filmer and Ron Malchiodi, the village’s parks and recreation director, said they connected through Joseph Fitzgerald, the newest member of Riverside’s village board and a former president of the RAC.
“He planted this idea, and he said, ‘We’ve tried to get this going in the past, but it’s just never come to fruition,’ and I said, ‘I’m going to make this happen because I love a challenge,” Filmer said. “I thought this would be a perfect collaboration between parks and rec because they’re right across the street from us, and their building is totally accessible.”
Unlike the RAC building, the Riverside Parks and Recreation building is just one floor and has a parking lot, so seniors with mobility issues can park right outside and don’t have to worry about climbing stairs.
Malchiodi said his department had also tried for years to partner with the arts center but that it hadn’t panned out in the past. When the two organization leaders finally got together, they both felt the program would be a great fit.
“It extends beyond just the art aspect. Certainly, they can learn to express themselves through art, but there’s also the social aspect, which is very important for the senior and active adult community. For us, the teens and seniors are always the most challenging to program for, just from a participation level,” Malchiodi said. “The fact that we could not only do collaborative programing with the arts center but also offer something for seniors was a complete win-win, for not only us but for the community.”
The club allows seniors to explore art through multiple media, from watercolor and markers to encaustic monotype, which creates a one-of-a-kind print using hot wax, Claussen said.
“It’s the process that’s important, not the product,” she said. “I’m teaching concepts at the same time that we’re having fun, and it’s important that we’re using materials that are exciting.”
“We are kind of going back in time to a time in our lives where we’re not even considering inhibiting thoughts or self-conscious thoughts. We’re going back to a time in our lives when we, like children, did arts with abandon,” Claussen added. “Art is for everyone. It’s natural. It’s a process like eating, drinking and breathing.”
She said she hopes her guidance allows the senior participants, who may have entrenched ideas of their own artistic capabilities, to realize they can pursue any kind of art and be able to improve if they so desire.
Filmer said she hopes the program will show that anybody can tap into their innate creativity.
“Sometimes, we think of the arts as something for kids, and I feel like we often are forgetting how important the arts are for adults,” she said. “Adults need creativity, too, and especially as we age, it’s so easy to become isolated. The arts and the practice of being creative and being around others — if one doesn’t engage in it, that part of your life goes away.”
