Senior community administrators have a lot on their plates, from piles of paperwork for new residents to brainstorming fun communal activities. There are a few easy art projects you can add to your rotation of activities that your senior residents will love. No matter what level of artistic skill your residents have, they can enjoy these activities together.
Holiday Decorations
Once people enter retirement, they can struggle with timeframes for their lives. Work is often the biggest timeframe someone has, dictating when they start the day and how they spend their time. When that structure is gone, many people struggle to keep up with the days, weeks, and months. However, holidays can keep them on track, and making holiday decorations together is a great artistic activity to help them prepare for holiday celebrations.
You can offer your senior residents various types of holiday decoration creation activities. They can make holiday wreaths together to hang on their doors, celebratory banners for communal areas, and useful seasonal crafts, such as hand-painted terra cotta pots and DIY snow globes.
Rock Painting
Art is one of the best hobbies for new retirees, and a unique version of art is painting rocks. There are groups across the country that paint rocks and hide them in various spots around the community for other community members to discover. Finding beautifully painted rocks adds a spot of brightness to anyone’s day. Senior residents who are no longer getting the satisfaction of a workday will enjoy participating in an activity that helps other people.
Residents can paint rocks of various sizes with whatever designs they want. Write on the back of each rock that it was lovingly painted by a resident of your senior community, then place them outside around the greater community. If your residents are technologically savvy, create a social media group so they can see who discovers their rocks and what the reactions were.
Stamp Art
Residents who think they don’t have enough artistic skills for holiday decorations or freehand painting on rocks will enjoy creating stamp art. They can make stamp art to hang in their own spaces, in communal areas, or to gift as hanging art and cards for others. Ask residents what kind of stamps they would like and provide them during craft time. You can use mica powder for stamping if you use clear ink, or you can provide an array of colored inks.
If you opt to use clear ink, provide both clear ink pads and pens. Pens allow people to color in blank areas around or in the biggest stamp. They can then brush a different mica powder color into that blank area, making their stamp art more unique. Offering this customizable option is a great way to help residents feel that they’re making something unique, even within a communal activity.
Your seniors will love the creativity and fun of these three easy art projects. If residents start requesting more artistic project options, consider incorporating more difficult art projects, such as making items out of clay or freehand painting on larger canvases. Challenges will help your residents continue to grow and learn, even after retirement.