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Bryna Freyer carefully steadies a small clay vessel while painting a pale blue line around its rim. Jars of gray, teal and cream pigments sit open nearby as she pauses to examine the curve before continuing.

For Freyer, a retired art historian and resident of The Jefferson senior living community, working with clay offers a welcome sense of calm.

“Working with clay in particular is very relaxing,” she said. “With ceramics, I don’t obsess about whether mine is good enough anymore. I’m just enjoying it.”

After a career spent studying museum collections and teaching art history, Freyer has shifted from analyzing the work of other artists to creating pieces of her own.

She is far from alone. During studio sessions at The Jefferson, residents sketch still lifes, mix watercolor paints and shape clay. Their finished landscapes, floral scenes and colorful abstractions fill the walls.

For many participants, making art is more than a hobby. It offers a chance to slow down, focus deeply and become absorbed in the act of creating.

Finding Calm on the Canvas

Retired art educator Wendy Kotler knows that feeling well. She spent her career teaching in public schools and developing art curricula, helping students notice details such as the curve of a leaf, changing light on a surface or subtle variations in the sky.

That close attention remains central to her own work. When painting, Kotler may lean toward the canvas to study how light falls across a petal or how one shade of purple blends into another.

Her subjects often begin with easily overlooked moments. A recent painting was inspired by orange lilies arranged on a table at her sister-in-law’s home.

“When I’m drawing, I’m intensely focused on the connection between my eye and the subject,” Kotler said. “Everything else drops away.”

That concentration can provide an emotional escape as well.

“If you’re anxious or agitated,” she said, “once you move into that creative space, it goes away.”

Research supported by the National Endowment for the Arts indicates that participating in artistic activities may support cognitive health and help reduce anxiety and depression, particularly among older adults.

Kotler’s connection to art began in kindergarten, when her class was asked to draw a person.

“My teacher leaned over and said, ‘Your person has a hand with five fingers. You’re really good at this,’” she recalled.

Kotler believes that kind of early recognition can influence the course of a person’s life.

“If you talk to people in creative fields, somewhere along the line someone noticed something and reinforced it,” she said.

Creative Growth Beyond the Art Room

At The Jefferson, residents also express their creativity outdoors.

Garden club chair Lynn Barton discovered gardening as a child while helping her grandmother in the yard. Her favorite task was pulling weeds.

“I liked getting rid of the bad things so the good things could grow,” Barton said.

She now helps organize seasonal plantings across the community’s grounds. Residents work together to dig, water and decide what should be added next.

“A neighbor once told me the garden is always a work in progress,” Barton said. “And that’s true.”

Creative activities are also part of daily programming for assisted living and memory care residents. Activities coordinator Dawn Hamed said meaningful participation begins with learning about each person’s interests.

“It all starts with building relationships,” Hamed said. “We learn what people loved doing before they came here and build activities around those interests.”

She recalled a resident who initially declined to leave his room or join any programs. He now attends nearly every activity.

“He may not follow the instructor exactly,” Hamed said. “But he’s there doing his own thing. And just being there means he’s engaged.”

Across The Jefferson, that engagement can be seen in handmade ceramics, paintings on studio walls and changing garden beds. Each project offers residents another opportunity to focus, connect and experience the satisfaction of making something.

As Kotler said, “It’s never too late.”