So Old
Judy K. Patterson
Awakening
Growing up on the Jersey shore, I didn’t think I was an artist. I played the piano and loved nature, especially the ocean, the sand and sunshine surrounded by a loving family.
I always wanted to have a job; women were so stifled and controlled. I chose New Jersey College for Women (now Rutgers) and thrived there, learning to be a teacher. There were so few careers for women in the fifties; a woman’s place was in the home. I always felt that my biggest success in life was my three children, even if I couldn’t add it to my resume.
Being an Artist
I first set up an easel in my closet which had one window, getting up in the middle of the night to do something creative for myself. Over the years I took lessons in art, entered the University of South Florida, majored in art, finishing with a master’s degree in fine art in 2000. A window opened for me, excitedly meeting women with goals like mine. During this time, my favorite pastime was ballooning as a three-women team on Sunday mornings when the wind was gentle.
My house is my safe harbor. Over the years it was remodeled. The grass was removed to create a jungle, the back deck was turned into a piano room, the carport converted to a garage, and the studio was attached to the house. The joy of living and learning are the same.
My garden means a lot to me. Bromeliads and succulents are survivors requiring little water or care. Nature’s erosion and new growths keep reoccurring in new ways and shapes. Finally, through Poetry, Great Books, OLLI, Operatunity, and Mermaids, I have a fabulous life and treasured friends.
Aging
Aging is an art. Loss is only half of it. Aging brings growth, expansion, and liberation. I paint, carve and print, enjoying decaying, rotting, rust, and patterns. You must have passion–a vitality of the life force. Accept and be kind to yourself as you are. Have radical hope and compassion for those who need help. Survive with dignity and laughter and pass it on.
Now, being So Old and excited to be entering a new and hopeful stage of life that requires new questions, new answers and a quiet courage, I continue my quest for meaning, identity, possibilities and self-realization. I’m finding excitement in being So Old; it’s a fierce ride with an acceleration of time left. I am a little ashamed of my years, afraid my independence will decrease as I get older. Aiming as high as I can, I weave the tapestry of life in my artwork. When finished, I shall wrap it around my family and friends and at the end, pull it up to be my shroud. I accept my life, eroding but a spark left. Learning, loving, family, friendship and the arts make my life valuable, giving me hope for continual renewal.
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M.A. Sinnhuber
M.A.Sinnhuber’s art is surprising in its unexpected use of brave, bold color to unusually define ordinary shapes. Her definitive use of brilliant color began when she noted and studied sun and shadows in California and Arizona workshops, where she viewed color more vividly than the more grayed palette of her hometown, Pittsburgh. M.A.’s study has included printmaking, watercolor, pastel, batik, oil, gouache, though she prefers acrylic for its quick drying.
She studied art at the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Chatham University and with well-known artists privately, nationwide.
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Judy K. Patterson is a longtime OLLI member and an artist. She is also longtime member of Tampa Bay Great Books and has taken many OLLI classes, particularly literature and poetry courses. She is active in a poetry group. She recently joined Operatunity SIG and is a member of the Talking Movies SIG.
M.A. Sinnhuber is an accomplished artist and poet. Her chapbook, The Leaving Field, was published by MadBoooks in 2013. A member of Madwomen in the Attic since 2004, she has been published in Voices from the Attic, Pittsburgh Poetry Review, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Vox Populi, Sandhill Review, and Pittsburgh City Paper. A life-long Pittsburgh resident, now in Clearwater, she is working on a full-length manuscript.
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