Senior Painting Group Adds Friendship To Its Palette

By Jan Howard

What began as a mutual interest in art has grown into a feeling of mutual friendship and caring.

Each of the members of the art group at the Newtown Senior Center joined because they wanted to learn to paint. But their Monday morning sessions from 10 to 11:30 am have brought each of them much more than that. Friendship, sharing, camaraderie, concern for each other’s health, and lunch at the Pizza Palace following class have been added to the mix.

“We’ve gotten very close as a result of it,” Bobbie White said of the class. “We’ve bonded. It’s not just the painting. We’ve become very close. I’ve never cancelled an art class.”

There are regularly eight in the class, including instructor Terry Gunger, Marti Jones, Joe Delaney, Ms White, Bea Piskura, Ada Cooper, Myra Beland, and Bernadette Bono. They all go out to lunch afterward, always at the Pizza Palace, where they have become well known. They usually sit in one special corner booth, near a wall where one of Mr Delaney’s paintings hangs.

On July 3, six of the members told about why they think the group has become so special to them.

Ms Gunger and Ms Jones began the lunch tradition about two years ago on a once-a-month basis.

“Terry suggested I join them for lunch one day,” Ms Beland said, and then they were three. “This is what I need,” she added, noting that getting out with others is good therapy.

Other members then joined the lunch tradition. “Once you start coming, you get bonded,” Ms White said.

The lunch often becomes a continuation of discussions begun in art class, but the members never lack for topics, whether it is family, reminiscing about the past, or laughing together over jokes.

“Marti usually brings jokes from the computer,” Ms Beland said.

Their outings are not limited to lunch at the Pizza Palace. Last Christmas they all went to The Hearth restaurant in Brookfield to celebrate the holiday, and they have taken trips to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford.

Ms Piskura said she greatly enjoyed the trips to the museums and gained great encouragement from seeing other people’s works. “When I saw all the paintings, I thought, if they can do it, I can do it, too.”

They are currently planning a picnic at Ms Gunger’s home in Huntington.

But it isn’t just about art and lunch. “When some members don’t show up, we worry about them,” Ms Beland said.

They also remember each other’s birthdays.

“We’re family,” Ms White added.

At the present time their thoughts are with Mr Delaney, who at 97 years of age recently underwent surgery. He has returned home from the hospital, but has not as yet rejoined the art class and lunch.

“We’re all concerned about Joe,” Ms Gunther said. “We all hope he gets well and comes back soon.”

Bernadette Bono, who was unable to attend the lunch on July 3, said, “They’re a very warm group of people. Each person enjoys the other’s success, which makes it even nicer. We’ve established some warm friendships. It’s been a really nice experience and continues to be. I really enjoy it.”

All the class members speak highly of Ms Gunger’s class, noting her encouragement and enthusiasm as well as her help when they have a problem with a painting.

“We also encourage each other,” Ms Piskura said. “Bobbie often brings in video tapes on art that explain how to create certain things, such as shadows.”

Ms Gunger said the members are so motivated that when she was absent from the class because of an operation, “They kept on going.”

Ms Beland said that painting was always something she wanted to do, but didn’t think she could. She has found Ms Gunger’s teaching and her fellow group members’ encouragement helpful.

“I love that we have a social group. I enjoy it very much,” she said. “It’s therapy.”

Ms Piskura said she always liked to sketch cartoon characters as a child. When she became older, she said, “I wanted to try the painting part.”

Ms Beland and Ms Piskura both joined the art class following the deaths of their husbands. They have found that the art class and the lunch that follows it are therapeutic as well as social.

“It’s a good feeling that you create something,” Ms Cooper said. “The first thing I said when I moved here was that I was going to join an art class. Everybody has probably gone through some rough times, and painting helps. It makes the hours go by.”

Ms White said though she was interested in art in the past, “I never had time to paint.”

Ms Gunger said she has been painting for 20 years. “It’s been a lifesaver for me.”

She said painting helps a person see things differently. “They begin to tell the difference in colors. There are many shades of colors, such as green. You look at trees, and you see all the different greens there are in nature. You also see shapes differently.

“See, observe, and remember is the rule,” Ms Gunger said. “It’s so important.”

Next Monday the group will undertake something new. Each member will bring in something that could become the subject of a joint project. Each member will create an individual painting of the subject decided upon by a majority of the members.

Most of the club members have participated in art shows at the Newtown Library and in other areas. Membership in the class ranges from one to three years, except for Mr Delaney who, they said, has been there from the beginning.

 Ms Gunger has taught the class for five years. “This is not the original group,” she said, “but it’s a closer group.”