Painting workshop a big hit at the senior center

Eighteen senior citizens turned out for a popular painting workshop this month held at the North Big Horn Senior Citizens Center in Lovell. In fact, the workshop saw such an unexpectedly big turnout instructor Donna Capellen had to break the workshop into two separate sessions to accommodate the large number of participants.

“Donna is doing such a great job with these workshops,” said senior center director Kim Gifford. “Everyone is loving it. At this particular workshop, everyone’s painting was completely unique. It seemed like everyone had a lot of fun, too.”

Capellen, a former librarian at the Lovell Library and an art assistant at My Studio in Lovell, started conducting the group arts and craft sessions at the senior center in December. So far, they’ve been very popular with the seniors. Being a crafty gal herself, she told the Chronicle earlier this year that she was really enjoying organizing the sessions. She said the sessions benefit elderly participants in many ways from improving hand dexterity to keeping the brain active. 

The sessions not only beat the winter blues at this time of the year but help seniors combat the boredom that sometimes comes with retirement. Coming to the center for the workshops also has the side benefit of encouraging seniors to have a healthy lunch during their visit, Capellen explained.

The on-going craft sessions take place on the second and fourth Wednesdays of every month, starting at 1 p.m. Each session is free to senior citizens. No art background is required. Most of the materials used are donated to the center. Many of the sessions center around a major holiday, helping senior citizens combat some of the loneliest days of the year. And, so far, the sessions are just plain fun.