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Creative Aging

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Enhanced quality of life is a distinctive benefit of participation in the arts.

CREATIVE AGING

Stories from the pages of the Journal
Sage-ing with Creative Spirit, Grace And Gratitude


Creative Aging is a powerful new social and cultural movement that is stirring the imaginations of communities and people everywhere. Often called Sage-ing, it takes many forms: academic, social and personal. It includes festivals, conferences, classes, group sessions and individual creative pursuits. The Journal Sage-ing With Creative Spirit, Grace and Gratitude was founded by the Okanagan Institute in 2011 to honour the transformational power of creativity. Intended as an initiative for collaboration and sharing, the Journal presents the opportunity for the free exchange of wisdom gleaned from creative engagement. Sage-ing is about seeking - satisfying inner gnawing and transforming it to knowing and action. Aging can be alchemy when one allows the realisation that to Know Thyself and contribute that knowing to our culture is indeed one of life's highest purposes. That knowing brings the gratitude, grace and integrity that a life deserves. The creative journey into self is a strong aid to health and wellbeing for the individual and to our culture. The book, Creative Aging, brings together more than 50 essays and galleries of images that showcase the power of the imagination expressed and enjoyed.

As Editor Carolyn Cowan writes in the Introduction: "By publishing this book, we share our optimism that the reader will be persuaded toward a fulfilling and different source of accomplishment and reward. All that is necessary is to listen, hear, believe, and follow your own artistic instinct. Aging with wisdom and creativity is an idea whose time has arrived."

AGING WITH WISDOM AND CREATIVITY IS AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS ARRIVED. Creativity is, indeed, a powerful force. We can let it flow through us, nurture and cultivate it as the artists in the 50 stories that follow have succeeded in doing. The artists have changed themselves and their day-by-day world as they innovate. Like creativity, aging is a process. Each melds with the other to promote mental and physical well-being and a more vibrant lifestyle. With creating, it's not the end that matters. Nor is it with aging. With the making of art, we mostly have control over the end; with aging, we have none. By publishing this book, we share optimism that you, the reader, will be persuaded toward a fulfilling and different source of accomplishment and reward. All that is necessary is to listen, hear, believe, and follow your own artistic instinct. .

Linda Lovisa, one of the more than 40 contributors to the book, writes: "Creation brings a renewed excitement to everyday life. It's something to look forward to and lose yourself in. The creative way to wellness is guilt free. You deserve to treat your brain, your body, your inner self and the soul in a respectful way, remembering that we are all born with talent and to be creators. It's up to you to find your way. Start by putting art into your daily routine, like having your morning coffee or walking the dog."

Published by Wood Lake Publishing
in association with the Okanagan Institute
ISBN 978-1-77064-811-1 | 6 x 9 inches, Paperback & french flaps,
320 pages, with 32 pages in full colour, Price $24.95
Available for online ordering for $19.96 per copy,
Order your copies now!   Click Here to Order

TABLE OF CONTENTS


  • Foreword: Celebrating Creative Aging - Karen Close
  • Introduction: The Journey to Creative Aging - Carolyn Cowan

    ONE • REFLECTING

  • Daphne Odjig - Karen Close
  • This Is What I Know for Sure - Maureen Lejbak
  • Creative Cooking - Patricia Guest
  • Staging My Third Act - Janet Anderson
  • Just Creating Brings Joy - April Chretien
  • The Art of Being Creative - Yvonne Goldberg

    TWO • CREATING

  • Julie Elliot Considers Art, Life, and Process - Karen Close
  • Storytelling: A Quilt of Comfort for a Wounded World - Cathryn Wellner
  • Ask a Blind Artist - Ruth Bieber
  • The Han Shan Poetry Project: Poetry Matters - Susan McCaslin
  • Marrying Poetry and Classical Guitar - Janice Notland and Alan Rinehart
  • A Yukon Tale - Daphne Mennell
  • Creativity Makes Connections - Jennifer French and Karen Close
  • Blogging for Hope - Cathryn Wellner
  • Creating Soul Connection - Ruth Bieber

    THREE • EMERGING

  • Dr. X's Lifeline to Creativity - Sterling Haynes
  • Art as a Journey - Jeff Stathopulos
  • Noni's Story - Lori Kline
  • Oh, The Places I'll Go - Donna Rubadeau
  • Something to Say - Karen Suzanne Smithson
  • Turning/Transforming "The Fallen" into Art: - Ed Bownes and John Topham
  • Endurance - Kim Lake
  • Inside Out - Carolyn Cowan
  • Finding My Way Back - Renata Kerr
  • My Story - Steve Aird
  • Creative Spirit Nurtures Community and Love - Kristin Butler and Sherman Doucette
  • On the Move in My Mind - Gobnait McAnoy
  • Birth of a Book - Johanna van Zanten

    FOUR • SEEKING

  • Sacred Art: The Poetry and Photography of Diana Hayes - Mary Ann Moore
  • Re-Voicing the Voiceless - Alexandra Babbel
  • Breathe In - Breathe Art - Heidi Thompson
  • Nurturing Creativity - Karen Close
  • Losing Creativity and Finding It Again - Harold Rhenisch
  • In Time, The Passage of Which - Robert MacDonald
  • The Creative Edge - Gold Churchill
  • Embracing the Mysterious - Lee Claremont
  • Breaking Loose - Carolyn Cowan
  • How I Became a Pilgrim - Harold Rhenisch
  • Paying Creative Attention - Robert MacDonald

    FIVE • HEALING

  • Healing in the Hospital through the Arts - Shirley Serviss
  • Mining Me: Finding Gold - Brenda Valnicek
  • The Body Seeks Your Creativity - Andrea Farrell
  • My Journey into Creativity - Sheilagh Simes
  • Choose to See Yourself - Barbara Burke
  • Volunteering with Heart - Kyla Ramirez
  • A Conversation of Marks - Deborah Anthony

    SIX • TEACHING

  • Bathing In Sensation, Artful Engagement with a Tree - Lisa Lipsett
  • Creative by Nature: Art Boost - Lisa Lipsett
  • Why Do I Paint? - Julie Elliot
  • Art for Change - Linda Lovisa

  • Epilogue: Is Age Relevant to Creativity? - Debra Sheets, Phoebe Liebig and Freddi Segal-Gidan
  • Afterword: Creativity in Aging - Jenny Sato


    • BEHIND THE BOOK


    Karen Close is a retired English and Visual Arts teacher and strong advocate for arts and health. She founded the Journal firm in the belief that we need to share the wisdom brought to each of us through creative engagement with life's moments. Karen has been on the advisory council of The Arts Health Network since its inception 10 years ago, and the board of The Society for the Arts in Dementia Care. Carolyn Cowan is a student of poetry and likes to paint in any spare time. Although Carolyn lived abroad and in Toronto for many years, the west with its prairies and mountains are in her bones.

    Sage-ing With Creative Spirit, Grace and Gratitude is published by the Okanagan Institute. The quarterly journal was founded in 2010 to honour the transformational power of creativity. It is intended as an initiative for collaboration and sharing. It presents the opportunity for the free exchange of wisdom gleaned from creative engagement. We invite all ages to contribute their discoveries.

    Sage-ing is about seeking - satisfying inner gnawing and transforming it to knowing and action. Ageing can be alchemy when one allows the realisation that to Know Thyself and contribute that knowing to our culture is indeed one of life's highest purposes. That knowing brings the gratitude, grace and integrity that a life deserves. The creative journey into self is a strong aid to health and wellbeing for the individual and to our culture.

    The journal exists for all those serious in exploring their creativity, in a chosen expression. It is a forum for publication and exposure to other artists, both novice and established. It is an easel for any form of artistry undertaken out of personal intuition and imagination.

    The Okanagan Institute is a group of creative professionals that have gathered around the goal of providing events, publications and services of interest to enquiring minds in the Okanagan. We partner with individuals, organizations, institutions and businesses to achieve optimal creative and social impact. The mission of the Institute is to ignite cultural transformation, catalyze collaborative action, build networks and foster sustainable creative enterprises. We provide innovative consultation, facilitation, professional development and creative services.


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