“He doesn’t just breathe life into paper, he breathes magic into it,” said one of his students. From the elegant sweep of graceful swans and the intricate bloom of flowers, to mesmerizing geometric marvels and puppetry that dance with life, David’s origami creations evoke nothing short of sheer awe.

Origami is a centuries-old art form that traces its origins to the Land of the Rising Sun in the 17th century, although China, with its rich tradition of paper manipulation, also has a stake in this captivating tale. The word is derived from the fusion of two Japanese words — “ori” meaning “fold” and “kami” meaning “paper”. It involves creating paper forms entirely by folding — typically birds, other animals, geometric shapes, puppets, masks, and boxes.

Artists find inspiration in many ways. For David, a retired educator and college professor, being an eyewitness to the historic events of World War II and its aftermath was his catalyst. Born in Hawaii of Japanese descent, David was 12 years old when he was an eyewitness to the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. He also read about the terrible devastation caused when four years later, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end the war.

David’s artistic journey began after reading about Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who was severely burned by radiation as a result of the Hiroshima bomb. While the 12 year old girl was recuperating in a Japanese hospital, she believed her illness would disappear if she completed 1,000 origami cranes.

Sadako fell short of her goal of folding 1,000 cranes, having folded only 644 before her death in 1955, at age 14. But her friends completed the 1,000 and buried them all with her. David was one of those friends.

“Her story really moved me,” David said. “I wanted to help. I needed to help.” At that point, David knew nothing about origami but used his newly realized inspiration to take action. He read several books on paper folding and taught himself how to make a paper crane. He ended up sending 100 cranes to Sadako.

“I realized what a beautiful art origami is and continued learning,” David said. “Soon, it became a passion.” David describes origami as a union between the mathematics of geometry and the visual arts. It’s a place where right brain meets left.

Dozens of origami cranes are displayed throughout his apartment at Claremont Manor. One of David’s most intricate pieces is an elephant folded from a dollar bill and one of his most ambitious pieces is a wreath that hangs on his front door, a collage of 50 colorful cranes strung together. “Some take a few hours and some take up to 50 hours to make,” David said. “For me, it’s relaxing, a way to be creative and most of all, it’s very enjoyable.”

“Origami is a blend of geometry and visual art,” David said. He showcases his favorite pieces at Claremont Manor and welcomes all skill levels to fun-filled workshops, sharing secrets and guiding students to create their origami masterpieces in just a few hours.

“Origami stimulates creativity and imagination and develops patience and dexterity of hand,” David said. “With a little time and desire to make something of beauty, anyone can enjoy this art.”

During his teaching career, David authored a textbook titled “Proofreading and Editing Precision,” which was widely used at high schools and colleges throughout the U.S. He has a degree in business communications with applied psychology.

The post David Kane Finds Joy and Inspiration in the Folded Magic of Origami appeared first on Front Porch.

As an emerging painter in the 1950s, Simone Forti became interested in movement.

“I spent a lot of time at the zoo in those days,” said the Kingsley Manor resident. “The natural movements I saw in animals was fascinating and I began sketching them.  There’s a lot of poetry in movement.”

Simone soon began to explore human movement through dance and with the avant-garde art movement exploding in the 1960s, took the next logical step – her medium became movement.

For six decades, Simone has created iconic performance art, including a show at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles earlier this year. The show, simply titled “Simone Forti,” showcases more than 80 works including her 1960-61 “Dance Constructions,” in which dancers use knotted ropes to suspend themselves in space or, on a slant board, shifting their weight off the usual horizontal plane.

Now a renowned artist, that was not always Simone’s life plan. Following her graduation from Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, she attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon to study biology. She continued to paint and soon came to a crossroads. She had to decide whether to continue “to play it safe” by studying biology or follow her passion and become a full-time artist. “I knew it would be difficult to make a living as an artist but it’s something I never had second thoughts about.”

After studying for four years with famed dancer and choreographer Anna Halprin, who Simone considers her mentor, she knew there were many opportunities in New York City for artists. She was correct. “Dance Constructions” was first performed at Reuben Gallery in 1960, a pioneering gallery of happenings, events and new media art. Further “Constructions” debuted at Yoko Ono’s loft, the following spring.

She and several other artists rented a loft in Manhattan, working together and encouraging each other. “It was an exciting time,” Simone said. “Being with other artists really inspired me.”

While she is widely celebrated as a choreographer and dancer, Simone views herself more broadly as an artist who works with movement, using her own body alongside other materials and media. She has expressed this philosophy through her experimental holograms, drawings and videos from her “Illuminations” and “News Animation” series and drawings and photographs from her lifelong exploration of animal movement and the natural world.

“My challenge has always been to make something out of nothing,” Simone said. “That may be the challenge of any artist.”

These days, Simone’s inspiration comes from her life at Kingsley Manor, located not far from the excitement of the city, which she loves. She has shifted her focus to writing, while enjoying the relaxed atmosphere among friends.

“I’m glad I can now be part of the Kingsley Manor community as an artist,” Simone said.

Photo Credits:

Simone Forti portrait, courtesy of Zuma News, LA, 2013.

“Dance Constructions” courtesy of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Photos by Jeff McLane

The post Simone Forti’s Medium is Movement appeared first on Front Porch.

During her travels she has seen the works of some of the world’s great masters including Rembrandt, Vermeer, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.

“I remember attending a Getty sponsored reception at the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam and standing in a room full of Rembrandts,” Nancy said. “It was an unforgettable experience.”

As an editor, part of Nancy’s job was to digitally catalogue great artists and their works, or as she puts it … “bring the art world into the computer age.”

Although she appreciates the great masters, she tends to gravitate toward contemporary American artists like Anne Laddon, Edward Hopper, Dave Spurlin and Myra Burg. In fact, Nancy’s favorite piece is Laddon’s “Comida Mexicana,” a hand-pulled serigraph (silkscreen) depicting various Mexican hot sauces and other canned foods, inspired by décor found at Mexican restaurants. Her cottage is filled with all of her favorite pieces, including her favorite medium, fiber art, as well as several quilts, designed by fellow resident and friend Joan Guyon.

“It was recently my honor to coordinate an exhibit here at Claremont Manor showcasing all of Joan’s beautiful quilts,” Nancy said. “Her work is just unbelievable.”

After Nancy received her Ph.D. in English from Claremont Graduate University, she worked as an editor at the Information Sciences Institute. She was involved in the pioneering work of creating the Arpanet, the forerunner of the internet, in the 1970s. “Soon after, I became one of the first people, probably in the world, to have an email address. It was an exciting time.”

Nancy has lived at Claremont Manor for a little over a year. She moved from Pacific Palisades after her husband died to be closer to her daughter and grandchildren, who live in Claremont. “I was familiar with the area, having gone to school here, and my house was so big, it was just the time for me to move,” Nancy said. “Claremont Manor seemed to be the perfect fit. In fact, my grandchildren can walk here from their school so I see them all of the time.”

The post Nancy Bryan Brings Love of Art to Claremont Manor appeared first on Front Porch.

“It’s a very meditative hobby,” Andy said. “It’s just me and the glass in harmony. It’s very relaxing.”

Andy began working with stained glass about 12 years ago, when an artist friend decided to pursue other interests. “No one in his family was interested in carrying on the hobby so he gave all of his glass and tools to me,” Andy said. “I have experience as a mechanic and woodworker but I didn’t know what to do with everything so I decided to take a class in the Bay Area. After that, I was hooked.”

Andy creates both two-dimensional and three-dimensional pieces from the estimated 100 sheets and pieces of stained glass he has, representing all of the colors of the rainbow and then some. Most of his work is abstract using only colors and shapes to represent what’s in his mind’s eye.

“Like any artist it starts with a vision,” Andy said. “I see what I want to create in my head and then make it a reality. The challenge is to figure out which pieces of glass and colors fit together to create that vision.”

When he moved to Friends House in December 2021, he was fortunate his home came with a garage to set up his shop. “I don’t need a large space to work but I do need a large space to store all of the glass,” he said.

Andy loves to share his art, often gifting pieces to friends and family. He also does visual presentations at Friends House about the history of stained glass, often showing his own work to fellow residents as examples.

The origins of stained glass are not certain, but ancient Egyptians were probably the first people to discover glass while making their vessels; the oldest examples of man-made glass are Egyptian colored glass beads from around 2700 BCE. Stained glass windows were first used by well-to-do Romans in their homes in the first century AD. Stained glass is popular today and can be found in many homes. For years, artists used hot irons and lead to join the pieces of glass. Nowadays, Andy, and most other artists, use the safer and more efficient alternative of copper foil and solder.

Many of both his and his wife’s family members lived in life plan communities like Friends House throughout the years, which gave Andy a unique view of community life. “I’ve always viewed life plan communities as places where everyone watches out for each other and where I can be myself,” Andy said. “That’s true here at Friends House. That’s why as a handy guy I’m happy to help my Friends House neighbors with small projects around the community. I believe in paying it forward.”

The post Friends House Stained Glass Artist Leads a Colorful, Sculptured Life appeared first on Front Porch.

Rated one of the top 100 self-taught artists in the country, Leon has lived and worked in Oakland, California for over 25 years and has been a resident of Oak Center Towers, an affordable housing community owned and operated by Front Porch, for nine.

If you are out, about, and aware, you may run into him on an Oakland street, capturing on canvas the people and scenes of Bay Area life. His works are coveted by prominent Folk Art collectors everywhere, and even appear in the Smithsonian Institute.

Leon paints on “everything.” Some of his most impressive works have been captured on bed sheets he has found on the streets. Works on wood, tables and chairs, glass, and metal (even hubcaps) have been known to grace a thorough Kennedy collection. Many of the materials he works with come from the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse in Oakland. He creates his artworks with markers, paints, crayons, beads, glitter, cotton, yarn, and rope.

Community is a central part of Leon’s vision of life, as shown in his painting, “Thou Shalt Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself.” Leon explains that his art stems from his love for humanity, and he especially loves to paint the faces of the people that matter most to him, his close friends and family and neighbors.

“I love to see a picture of the beauty of old faces, young faces, all colors,” he says. “Everyone has their own beauty, everyone has character, and everyone goes through something. My work is based on community and family, and I love doing the faces and showing the heart and love. The heart of the community — you call it love.”

“The main idea of my art is concern for people, encouraging someone else,” he said. “I love when someone loves the work, and feels touched. We’re here to serve and love and encourage one another. When I get a vision, I hope it helps someone.”

He has long had a vision as an artist. “As a child I knew that art was my vocation,” Leon said. Born in 1945 in Houston, Texas, he moved to the Bay Area in 1965. He lived in San Francisco’s Mission District in the 1970s and painted his first public mural in Hunter’s Point during that time. In Oakland, Leon began by painting on cloth, but he soon ran out of canvas, so he started painting on bed sheets and other found materials.

It seems fitting that he often finds his “canvases” on the street. “My art studio is the street,” Leon explained. “I paint on bed sheets that I hang on wooden fences and building walls.”

He explains that artistic visions constantly come to him. Living at Oak Center Towers provides him with a steady home base as well as a community from which to draw inspiration. “I love the variety of people here, I love my view of downtown,” he said. “The staff here is so supportive; anything that needs fixed is taken care of right away. I’m also inspired by the other artists here. I’d love to bring them all together so the world can see our creativity.”

Learn more about Leon Kennedy and his artwork on his website.

*This post was adapted from an article previously published in the Fall 2019 edition of Community Matters, a publication of the Front Porch Communities Foundation, with quotes adapted from a Street Spirit article from April 2014. Read the most recent edition of Communities Matters here.

The Front Porch Communities Foundation supports innovative programs and community improvements that deliver real benefit to residents, employees, and program participants across the Front Porch organization. To learn more, visit https://frontporch.net/philanthropy/.

The post Renowned artist Leon Kennedy calls Oak Center Towers home appeared first on Front Porch.

Residents are encouraged to walk the halls and enjoy the variety of art on display. There is even a full guide to all of the artwork found throughout the community so that residents and guests can learn more about the different pieces.

“Art has been important to the community from day one of its opening,” say San Francisco Towers residents Judy Donahue and Holly Robinson. “Our halls and public spaces are filled with beautiful art.”

The 2^nd floor holds a special place for art at the Towers as it is home to the Art Show, which features art created by residents and staff. Donahue and Robinson, who curate the Art Show, note that it provides “a vehicle for residents and staff to exhibit the art they have created.”

Walking down the 2^nd floor hallway, residents and visitors pass walls lined with framed photographs, paintings in various mediums, and full canvases.  A bust is tucked into a corner atop a plinth, and intricately embroidered pillows, which are part of the show, settle on a Recamier sofa.

Residents are not only encouraged to enjoy the show but to submit their pieces for inclusion. All mediums are welcome at the art show, including ceramics, needlepoint, photography, paintings, jewelry, and sculptures.

The current show features about 50 participants with up to two pieces per participant to ensure that all interested residents and staff can see their art on display.

The art show is its own celebration at the Towers. Art pieces are shown for six months before a new set of art is exhibited and each new show is celebrated with a biannual cocktail party that celebrates both the art and the artists.

“We find it extremely rewarding to see the level of enthusiasm that residents have about their art and for fellow residents to enjoy viewing the many diverse pieces in the show,” say Donahue and Robinson. “We particularly enjoyed exhibiting a Trash to Treasures show during our COVID-19 lockdown where we displayed whimsical pieces made from recyclable materials that brought smiles to viewers and boosted morale.”

Putting on the art show does come with its challenges, including determining how best to showcase unique pieces. As part of Robinson and Donahue’s role as organizers of the art show, they place the pieces on the wall themselves and create solutions for larger pieces. For the show currently on display, Robinson and Donahue had to find a heavy rod to support a beautiful needlepoint rug so that it could be properly hung.

The result is a hall full of unique pieces that represent the individual personalities of residents and staff at the Towers. “Walking along the corridor of art, you cannot help but appreciate the shared environment of collective expression,” says Christina Spence, Executive Director of San Francisco Towers. “It’s truly a celebration of one of the many reasons San Francisco Towers is such a special community.”

If you are interested in touring the Towers to see some of the beautiful artwork and learn more about the community, we would love to hear from you through the form below.

The post Residents’ Talent on Display at San Francisco Towers Art Show appeared first on Front Porch.

“I have participated in the artists’ studio tour so many times over the years that I’ve lost count,” says Olsen. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for artists to share their art, where and how they work, and for the public to meet a wide variety of artists at different levels of expertise.” This year marks the first time Olsen will be participating since moving to Canterbury Woods and she will be utilizing the courtyard to present her pieces. “We have a lovely courtyard with many tables, chairs, and fresh air.”

The Studio Tour allows artists to meet the community and share information on their process and philosophies. “As an artist on the tour, it has been fun to get people’s opinions, to see what they like and to share how I work,” says Olsen. “I hand out a sheet of philosophies I have found helpful that starts with what one of my teachers told me: ‘Don’t judge yourself as an artist until you have done four hundred paintings.’”

Since Olsen discovered her love of art at forty, she has painted over 3000 pieces. She notes “I was an English major in college and never saw myself being an artist. I didn’t think I had artistic talent.” But a course in Batik, a technique that uses wax to create designs on dyed cloth, changed her thinking. Olsen says that the Batik class “was much fun and led to classes to develop my art skills.”

Her medium of choice is painting, particularly oil on canvas. “Painting became a challenge, or one could say an obsession, to always wanting to improve skills and do better paintings,” she notes. “I discovered that talent helps, but like playing the piano, frequent practice makes the difference between being amateur or professional.”

In 1986, Olsen was accepted as a member of the Carmel Art Association, which is artist owned and run. “Carmel Art Association has a great reputation and sells a lot of art. With the encouragement of selling, I began painting over one hundred paintings a year, which I have now done for thirty-five years,” says Olsen.

Her most common subjects are landscapes, though Olsen notes that she doesn’t paint out in nature, known as plein aire. “With controlled lighting and ease of set up and comfort, my studio always won over the outdoors. However, I have taken hundreds of photos and use them as a stimulant for ideas.”

Another important part of her technique is music. “Listening to classical music while I paint helps in keeping me from thinking too much and from giving up until things feel right.” Olsen has special techniques for painting on paper, board and canvas and she encourages people to “come to my studio tour to find out what they are.”

Olsen’s studio will be open to the public the weekend of October 16^th and 17^th. To see examples of her work, visit https://carmelart.org/ and fineartamerica.com. For more information on the Monterey County Artists Open Studio Tour, visit www.mcarttour.org. To schedule a tour of Canterbury Woods, contact us.

The post Canterbury Woods Resident Peggy Olsen to be featured on Monterey County Studio Tour appeared first on Front Porch.

Enduring Inspiration “began as an idea to connect community members through shared experience at a time when we need to be physically distant,” notes Jessica McCracken, Creative Spark Director. “The title of the show captures the endurance we all must have during this challenging time.”

“It stands for everything Ruth’s Table believes in,” adds Rita Mukhsinova, Ruth’s Table Program Manager. “That art has the power to heal and bring communities together, that it helps challenge assumptions about age and disability, and that it should be accessible to all.”

Since March alone, Enduring Inspiration has distributed over 750 creative care kits and reached over 1,400 older people. The new exhibition highlights a selection of the incredible work created during the initiative’s first half and looks to what is coming next. Art included in the exhibition includes collages, embroidery, drawing, weaving, and more.

Ruth’s Table kicked off the Enduring Inspiration exhibit with a live virtual event on Thursday, February 4^th. Participants and Covia team members joined to share the inspiration and stories behind their art and how the program has impacted them over the past year.   

“Creative projects helped me to feel like I belong to something and fulfilled my need to connect with others while expanding my creativity,” noted Margie, a Bethany Center resident whose iris fold artwork is featured in the exhibition. Margie’s essential worker’s collage that she created for the initiative was also featured on a LeadingAge postcard sent out to advertise their annual gathering.

Covia Market Day Associate Director Teresa Abney, shared how her program has been utilizing Enduring Inspiration to connect with participants. Though in-person markets cannot currently be held, Abney distributes Creative Spark worksheets to participants to keep them engaged. She noted that participants like the idea of being creative and share their completed worksheets with neighbors to compare their unique approaches to the same prompt.

The full Enduring Inspiration exhibit is available online here and a recording of the opening event will be available soon.

This is just the beginning for the Enduring Inspiration initiative. “I am most excited about the next round,” says McCracken. “Creative Spark and Ruth’s Table will be hosting more classes, creating more partnerships, and putting together more kits and worksheets to showcase in future installments.”

The post Enduring Inspiration Exhibit Celebrates Art Created During Shelter in Place appeared first on Front Porch.

Speakers from this year’s symposium include dancer and choreographer Nancy Cranbourne; storyteller and co-founder of MiHistoria.net Albertina Zarazua Padilla; eco-friendly style icon Debra Rapoport; artist and activist Edythe Boone; geriatrician, writer, and educator Louise Aronson; and author and community organizer David “Lucky” Goff.

Takeaways from the 2020 Symposium

Nancy Cranboure kicks off the 2020 Creative Aging Symposium by discussing how dancing is an act of radical self-acceptance and how it imbues inner joy as discovered through the creation of her dance troupe 40 Women Over 40. She then leads in a moment of movement and dance that demonstrates the joy of movement at any age. 

Albertina Padilla offers a moment of creative reflection on reinvention and how to move our stories forward. She highlights concrete tips on how creativity can lead to resiliency framed through the lens of telling and understanding our own personal story.

Style icon Debra Rapoport is interviewed by Julie Pfitzinger, Senior Editor for Features at Next Avenue, and discusses the personal aspect of creativity.  She talks about how picking out what she wears every day has become a moment of meditation and how personal style helps us understand ourselves. Rapoport expounds on the fact that everyone is creative in their own way.

Offering a creative moment of reflection, Edythe Boone discusses how each unique neighborhood inspires the artwork that she creates in that community. She highlights the importance of incorporating a community in the creation of murals, where they are given a platform to highlight an injustice in the community or immortalize the contributions of specific community members.

Dr. Louise Aronson, geriatrician and bestselling author of Elderhood, shares the importance of stories, including in medicine, and how it is important to be intentional with and conscious of the words we use when talking about aging. Aronson also discusses the importance of imagination in aging and how “we are the artists of ourselves.”

To wrap up the Creative Aging Symposium experience, David ‘Lucky’ Goff discusses how as we age we get closer to ourselves and in this we get closer to the universe as a whole. Goff also discusses the importance of community and the ability to share stories within that community that embrace aging.

The Importance of Creativity  

“Creativity is the key ingredient to strengthening resiliency, and thus, it should be an ongoing part of our lives,” notes Creative Aging Symposium creator Katie Wade. “I’m thrilled that we now have the Creative Aging Symposium recordings accessible to us throughout the year. It means our creativity can be sparked at any moment!”

The symposium’s takeaways are particularly pertinent during this time of physical distancing as we find new ways to connect and boost our resiliency. If you are interested in delving deeper into each speaker with a group of interested older adults, Well Connected is currently in the middle of reviewing the symposium, one speaker a week through July 8th. The session meets on Wednesdays and are hosted by Creative Aging Symposium creator and Social Call Director Katie Wade and Well Connected volunteer Nancy Walton-House. These sessions have fostered engaging conversations and a deeper understanding of the importance of creativity. Well Connected participant Michelle notes “I’ve learned that creativity is not just about art but using your creative ideas in other aspects in life.”

We would love to hear what your favorite takeaways are from the symposium and if the symposium inspires you to pursue a new creative endeavor. If you are interested in learning more about creative aging and getting the latest news on next year’s symposium, be sure to sign up for our creative aging newsletter on the symposium video page.  

The post Revisiting the 2020 Creative Aging Symposium appeared first on Front Porch.

Ruth’s Table, part of Covia’s Community Services, is an arts nonprofit committed to increasing access to creative opportunities for older adults and adults with disabilities located at Bethany Center Senior Housing, a Covia Affordable Community. Through the Enduring Inspiration initiative Ruth’s Table is encouraging individuals sheltering in place to express themselves through creative projects with the help of creative care kits, support from teaching artists, and virtual classes. The culmination of the project is the Enduring Inspiration exhibition, a gallery show that will feature submitted art pieces created during this time.

Ruth’s Table Director Jessica McCracken notes, “Knowing that people were going to have to stay at home for a long duration of time, our first thought was around the risks associated with social isolation. Ruth’s Table programming has proven that the arts are an incredible tool for bringing people together. Enduring Inspiration was designed to bring a sense of hope and offer a way to process the magnitude of this experience.”

One way that this has manifested is with creative care kits, which include art-making activities (paired with supplies) that participants can use at home. Ruth’s Table has partnered with Covia Creative Spark to create Creative Spark worksheets, which are fun prompts intended to spark inspiration. Worksheets vary greatly, from turning a provided squiggle into a drawing to curating a personal art collection. An example of the worksheets can be found here.

Beyond the Creative Spark worksheet kits, Ruth’s Table has also partnered with Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSW), which empowers underprivileged youth through sewing and quilting, to create an intergenerational quilt. Ruth’s Table and SJSA have created quilt making kits that guide recipients through creating a quilt block that will be incorporated into a full quilt. This quilt will be on display as part of the Enduring Inspiration exhibit. If you are interested in creating a quilt block as part of the project, please reach out to contact@ruthstable.org.

Ruth’s Table is also supporting community creativity through individual or group phone calls as well as virtual classes. Group or individual support calls allow teaching artists to provide assistance and encouragement to those working on the creative care kits and Creative Spark worksheets. Virtual classes are also available for senior communities as a way to keep connected and engaged while we stay at home.

Set to take place later this year, the Enduring Inspiration exhibit is an invitation to us all to explore creative projects at home and share our work with others. Ruth’s Table is encouraging everyone to submit any creative projects of choice, from traditional art pieces like paintings and sculpture to other creative endeavors like recipes, musical pieces, and more.

Everyone and anyone is invited to submit their creative project for consideration and submissions are open now through August 1^st. The submission process is easy and consists of a short write-up about the project, a photo of the project if applicable, and a short, 2 to 3 sentence bio. The full submission guidelines are available on Ruth’s Table’s website. To submit, please reach out to Ruth’s Table at contact@ruthstable.org or 415.505.3269.

If you are working on a creative project during this time, also consider sharing photos and your process on social media using the hashtag #RTmakes. We’re excited to see what you create and how you are utilizing creativity to stay connected.

The post Fostering Creative Expression While Sheltering in Place appeared first on Front Porch.