Gallery

Meet the Artists

Clara Baune  Heritage Woods of Plainfield Clara spent most of her life living in Arkansas and moved to Illinois to be closer to her family. She taught herself how to knit using books from the local library. Clara created her Little Red Schoolhouse blanket because it reminded her of the small schoolhouse near her home in AR.

Helen Benditzky Legacy Healthcare Helen has had a passion for art since she was a young woman when her parents arranged for her to work with a watercolor instructor. She later received a BA in art from the University of Nebraska. When her were children growing up she began painting again. She enjoys painting landscapes and often unwinds with her friends in the Art Room at her facility.

Warren Berner Imboden Creek Gardens Warren was born in Marshall, Illinois and worked with teh University of Illinois Extension Office. He was involved with Service Farm Management for several counties. He also served as a pilot in WWII. After he left the service he got a 35mm camera and has been taking pictures ever since. "I just like to capture the beauty that I see around me," Berner explained.

Jan Carpenter Imboden Creek Gardens Jan is a joy to be around. Prior to moving to Imboden Creek Gardens she ran an in-home daycare, and also worked for a bank and the postal service. She loves to write, sing and dance. She submitted her poem, Parade, for the program. "I love to write down my thoughts," she said, "and it's fun to make things rhyme."

Barb Cassidy Cambridge House of Maryville Barb was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. She has always enjoyed arts and crafts. She also likes puzzles and trivia, popular music and movies. The piece she entered for Art for the Ages took her three days to complete thanks to all of the tiny little details.

Linda Chestnut Hertiage Woods of Chicago At 74 years young, Linda is still an active and energetic lady. She enjoys various craft projects, including crocheting, embroidery, painting and coloring. The embroidery piece that Linda submitted was a pillowcase one which she stitched a cross, covered in roses and two blue birds, which showed a great deal of delicate, detailed embroidery work.

Ceola Cook Montclare Supportive Living Having only lived in a supportive living center for the past year, 91 year old Ceola likes to stay busy by participating in a variety of arts and crafts activities. For her Postachio painting, Ceola noticed they had some leftover postachio shells laying around and decided to do something with them. The end result was a colorful and whimsical painting.

Anne Creel Heritage Woods of Bolingbrook Anne is originally from Holland. She enjoys drawing and watercolor painting, though she became an artist later in life. Anne is often inspired by where she grew up and enjoys painting buildings and landscapes from that region.

Ludy Lea Davis Legacy Healthcare Judy has always had an artistic eye and has tried a variety of types of art through the years, including drawing, photography and painting. Last year Judy severly injured her shoulder. With some therapy she was able to paint, which has helped improve her mobility so much that it is now a regular part of her therapy.

Connie Ferrill Hancock County Senior Services Connie, 88 years old, has had an artistic flare for many years. She has painted countless professional works and enjoys being able to channel her creativity in a variety of ways. For her collage project she featured objects that she like and caught her eye, including bring colors, animals and nature.

Marlene Fox Hancock County Senior Services Marlene was a school teacher for many years, and still has a passion for teaching. She has two sons and several grandchildren. She loves to be creative and for her collage project she wanted to capture a bird's eye view of all that encompasses the beauty of nature.

Lacefene Goller Imboden Creek Gardens Lacefene (Lacie) was born in Arizona, but moved to Illinois when she was just 18 months old. She learned to sew in her home ec class in highschool, and began really knitting, sewing and quilting regularly after she retired. Lacie created the quilt that she entered for one of her grandsons and his family.

Carol Johnson Legacy Healthcare Carol has never shied away from a challenge and has a kind and caring spirit. She has always enjoyed allowing her imagination to run wild through her art and though she suffers from Rheumatoid arthritis she goes to the Art Room each day to create. The painting that Carol submitted was inspired by one of the center's therapy dogs, Honey.

Shan Kennedy Cambridge House of Maryville Shan was raised in Washington DC and later moved to Colorado with her husband. She began drawing and painting as a child and continues to be creative today. At 90 years old, Shan enjoys relaxing on her patio in the summer and wanted to express that in the drawing she submitted.

Mary Leeper Imboden Creek Gardens Mary grew up on a farm and her family continues to farm today. She and her husband loved taking pictures and she has continued that tradition. Rather than just having photographs laying around she decided to start making them into greating cards, like the ones she submitted.

Linda Mulso Heritage Woods of DeKalb Linda started to sketch when she was in highschool and then attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts for two yaers. She has a long time love of animals and has shown a number of them throughout the years. The piece that she submitted for Art for the Ages was created for a special CNA at the facility.

Mickey Oswald Gateway River City Mickey was born here in Illinois, but moved around a lot growing up. She became a nurse at age 20, worked her way up to DON and later administrator. She began her interest in art - drawing, painting and other crafts - when she was in junior high. The painting she submitted was inspired by a snapshot from a walk through the woods with her father when she was a teenager.

Ronald Rhine Eagle Ridge Decatur Ronald (75) spent his life working in a factory. He loves woodworking and builds bird houses in his down time. The facility has set up a space outside for him to use so he can continue his work. His bird houses are very detailed and he uses a variety of materials. He even adds lights and greens/flowers or other interesting details.

Rosalia Rivera Heritage Woods of Bolingbrook Rosalia loves to paint and crochet. Though she didn't begin painting until later in life, she has developed a passion for creating. She learned how to paint by watching the create channel. The piece that she submitted, an oil painting depicting the Virgin Mary, shows a great deal of detailed work.

Merlin Tobias Hancock County Senior Services Merlin (83) has no formal art training or background, but was a teacher for many years. He has always enjoyed expressing himself creatively. For his collage, he compiled a variety of images and words that caught his eye and put them together in a unique way.

Sam Vaughan Hancock County Senior Services Sam (67) has always enjoyed being creative. For many years he drew cartoons as a hobby. To create his collage, Sam combined a number of images and words that were meaningful to him into one interesting piece.

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