The Arts and Older Adults

Stéphanie Jones

Visual Arts

Clay projects are a playful opportunity to get grounded and connect with ourselves. Taking the time to slow down and hand-build a piece is like offering ourselves a gift. The underlining intention is to accompany the older adults through a creative process, i.e. have them experience doubt and vulnerability, help them overcome fears related to their skills and eventually nourish a sens of pride as they sip their tea in their own hand-made tea cup. Something that is very precious about clay projects with older adults is that it may give way to informal conversations on rich life experiences and their teachings.

Sample workshop:

Technically, my workshop offer comes in three stages. In the first workshop, I assist the participants as they hand-build a tea cup using the basic pinch pot technique. The potteries are brought back to the studio for drying and bisque firing. During a second visit, the participants will choose a glaze color and apply it on their piece with a brush. Again the potteries are brought back to the studio for the glaze firing. Finally, the objective of the third visit is to give the potteries back and enjoy a moment together as we drink tea in our hand-made cups.

Materials:

Clay, potter’s tools, glaze, brushes, etc. (I provide the necessary materials)

Listed with:

ArtistsInspire

Available for:

In-person workshops

Language(s) of facilitation:

English, French

Project type:

Older Adults and Intergenerational

Contact:

stephanie13jones@gmail.com

Capitale-Nationale region

Land Acknowledgement

ELAN is an official minority language organization within a country that recognizes two languages as official. ELAN is located in Tiohtià:ke, the original name for Montreal in Kanien’kéha, the language of the Mohawk—also known as Mooniyang, which is the Anishinaabeg name given to the city by the Algonquin. While we are based in this city, our projects have also taken place in many regions across Quebec.

We acknowledge the colonial origin of English and French in Canada, and recognize that both languages benefit from official status throughout the land. The province that we know as Quebec is an amalgamation of the traditional territories of the Innu and Inuit nations, Algonquian nations, as well as the Mohawk nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Kanien’kéha and Anishinaabemowin are but two of the original languages of this province; Atikamekw, Cree, Inuktitut, and Innu-aimun are also among the many Indigenous languages spoken across Quebec as majority languages, all well before French and English.

ELAN acknowledges the important work being done by First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples to revive the traditional languages of these territories, and their advocacy for the official status of Indigenous languages.

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