The art of memory

Young Chang

Lynn Welker remembers one painting she did a couple years ago.

She started out meaning to create an abstract work but ended up

depicting, in an abstract way, Ohio farmland.

The professional Newport Beach artist didn’t grow up on farms, but she

grew up close enough to them in Ohio that she’d inevitably go to and

drive by the fields.

“I like to have the painting take me where it goes,” Welker said. “I

know, in many cases, the end result will include things from my

background, my childhood.”

Artists showcased at next week’s “Orange County Artists Showcase

2002,” hosted by the Costa Mesa Senior Center and Orange Coast College

for the fourth year, agree.

More than 190 pieces of art created by people older than 50 will line

the walls of the Senior Center for a weekend. Chosen from more than 2,000

entries in a juried competition held last Monday, the works are products

of Orange County seniors, most of whom are from Newport Beach, Huntington

Beach and Costa Mesa.

Part of the exhibit will feature a traveling collection, coordinated

with the Orange County chapter of the Alzheimer’s Assn., called “Memories

in the Making.”

The artwork in this section was done by Alzheimer’s patients from

throughout the county, most of whom have passed on.

“Memories in the making is a method we use to process with nonverbal

individuals using symbols,” said Ladoris “Sam” Heinly, coordinator for

the collection. “Art helps trigger memories for them and acts as a

reminiscent tool . . . and helps them tap into those past memories.”

Heinly added that Alzheimer’s patients have frequently used art to

communicate with others about their childhood, their families, pets and

children.

Art also helps healthy seniors -- and people in general -- remember

past times and stories, local artists and senior experts confirm.

When asked about art and memory, Welker laughed at first and said not

all senior artists are so old that they need artistic stimulants to

remember things. But much the way writing and other creative processes

jog the memory, the professional agreed that art can cause people to

remember.

“And I don’t think an artist can really do visual, fine art work

without drawing from their past,” she said.

Sheryl Lowes, a public health nurse at the Senior Center, added that

she’s read research that proves exercising the mind, be it through

crossword puzzles or artistic endeavors, helps cause positive emotions

and stimulates the brain.

Referring to the seniors at the Center who take watercolor and other

art classes, Lowes added, “It brings back memories because the long-term

memory is still intact. It’s the short-term memory that begins to decline

as we age.”

The process of creating art also makes memories.

Joy Escoe, a Costa Mesa resident and amateur artist whose three

paintings will be hung at the Center as part of the show, takes

photographs of people and places and then paints what she’s shot. In her

artistic way, she leaves behind little legacies on canvas.

“It’s a document, I’m telling something about myself in these

paintings,” Escoe said.

Her favorite scenes are of mountains and everything that surrounds

them -- the snow, the skies, the trees and even the smells.

“I like to be buried in the mountains. I really love them and I feel

the best there,” she said. “My favorite things to paint are mountain and

snow scenes. Somehow, I think in a previous life I lived in the

mountains.”

Escoe’s three pieces in the show are “Wisteria,” which depicts a

French Alps scene; “A Dutch Garden”; and “Buck’s Pond,” which refers to

the pond her landscaper son Buck built in the back of his house.

“When I first started showing my paintings, I thought ‘Gee, I hope

that when I pass on, that my family wants it,”’ the painter said. “I have

friends and relatives who have paintings of mine. It’s nice to be

rewarded with some approval.”

FYI

WHAT: “Orange County Artists Showcase 2002”

WHEN: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 8 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 9 and 10

WHERE: Costa Mesa Senior Center, 695 W. 19th St., Costa Mesa

COST: $2.50

CALL: (949) 645-2356