Art therapy program in Brighton helps seniors age creatively

BRIGHTON — Before coming to the Jewish Home two years ago, Florence Slakter didn’t know a whole lot about painting.

"I never even picked up a paintbrush before," the 89-year-old said incredulously.

Slakter, who formerly worked in accounting, is one of dozens of residents at the Jewish Home of Rochester who take part in the senior living facility’s creative arts therapy program, a course that teaches them to paint, draw, make birdhouses, create pottery or do whatever else comes to mind.

"Anything is open," said Bob Whiteside, the home’s creative arts therapist. "They can try different things."

Whiteside, who oversees the program, said about 20 residents regularly attend his classes, while roughly one-third of the home’s 350 residents venture down to the creative arts room at some point during the week to work on something.

The arts therapy program is named after Joan and Harold Feinbloom, two of the home’s longtime benefactors who recently endowed the program with a $500,000 donation.

The Feinblooms recognized that the program "is one they could expand on," said Ed Bloom, president of the Jewish Home Foundation, the fundraising arm of Jewish Senior Life, which runs the home.

Whiteside said he hopes to use the donation to draw more residents into the program, partly by adding more outdoor drawing sessions.

The therapy part of the program, he said, comes from giving residents something to care about, something "they’re really looking forward to each day."

"I can see the passion in their lives for having a purpose," he said, "which is so important in life."

Instead of staying in their rooms, residents can come to the arts therapy classes and indulge their creative sides.

Whiteside tries to keep the program fun by incorporating dancing, singing and trips to concerts and the theater.

They also have film nights for which residents can bring down interesting films from their personal collections.

The program helps residents to keep exercising their minds and developing talents. "It enables them to grow rather than … become stagnant," Whiteside said.

Elaine Smith, who has lived at the Jewish Home for four years, said she enjoys painting in the classes and has painted a basket on the back of her wheelchair purple with gold dots.

"Working with Bob, the whole thing is a pleasure," Smith said. "He’s just a delight."

Bernard Yablin, a former pediatrician who has lived at the home since 1999, said he also enjoys painting and has won awards in senior painting contests.

Often when he begins a painting project, Yablin doesn’t know how it will end.

"I’m never sure when I start it," he said.

The residents keep their artwork in their rooms, give it to relatives as presents, or sometimes put it up for sale. Their birdhouses sell in the Jewish Home’s gift shop.

Jack Wolsky, a professor who volunteers by teaching a painting class at the home, said the point of the arts therapy program is not just to improve the seniors’ skills, but to enhance their whole lives.

"The main thing is to help their quality of life," Wolsky said. "If they like it, great. If they become artists, that’s nice.

"The main thing is the quality of life."