On Saturday, July 26th, Amy Xue with her paint-stained overalls put the finishing touches on a brightly colored mural in the lobby of Serving Seniors Potiker Family Senior Residence titled “Age is a Work of Art.” Amy has been working on this project since the beginning of May, and she even had senior residents participate and help paint the mural.
The project started with a brainstorming session where all residents were invited to share ideas of what they envisioned to enhance the plain beige hallway wall that runs from the dining room to the outdoor garden. Amy asked what they wanted to see, what they thought would add to the building, and what brings them strength and happiness.
From there, she created three different designs and residents voted on which one they liked the best. The result – a mural showcasing nature and intergenerational connection. Amy spent the weeks that followed making that design come to life. She spent a total of 75 hours volunteering her talent and time to create art that enhances the daily lives of the senior residents.
This project was a nice change of pace for Amy, who is a 24-year-old busy medical student at UCSD, spending six days a week in the hospital for her clinical rotations.
“I’ve become friends with a lot of seniors here and looked forward to seeing them every week. I’ll definitely miss them.”
Seniors have been walking past and complimenting the artwork describing how much life it brings to the building. Others stopped out of curiosity, asking questions, and joining the painting session. And then there were seniors like Peter, who was a part of the project from start to finish.
Peter likes learning new things and was curious about the process of creating a mural, so he attended the brainstorm session and every Saturday painting session after. With the encouragement from Amy, he wasn’t afraid to paint the mural even if he made a mistake. Now, Peter is excited that he can tell people he helped create a mural, even though he is not a professional artist.
The community mural is beautifying the space that most seniors pass by daily, increasing community pride and a sense of belonging.
At the end of this month, Amy will be hosting an event with residents to celebrate the completion of the mural.
Thank you to Amy for making this beautiful artwork come to life!
Our volunteers truly make a world of difference at Serving Seniors. Whether serving a meal, hosting activities such as bingo and art classes or coming up with a volunteer idea that is unique to your talents – there is always a meaningful way for you to make an impact at Serving Seniors. Visit our volunteer page to learn more.
