Stay Gold: Philbrook Museum Hosts Art Classes For Older Adults

The Philbrook Museum of Art is putting a canvas in front of older adults.

The 8-week program is called Stay Gold and is for adults 55 and older. A new session begins each season and older adults can choose from a variety of classes like Introduction to Drawing.

Barrie Lamberton is the teacher of that class, and she currently has about 15 students.

"This is my first class teaching adults but it is actually really great. I do not have to manage the classroom as much,” she said jokingly.

The students are three weeks into the program and are already drawing their own hands. Pat Neal said he is taking the class to learn new techniques and hone his artistic skills.

“We are not all going to be Michelangelo,” he added, “That is not what is going to happen here, but it is a way to learn some new skills."

Neal is a docent at the Philbrook. He said looking at all the beautiful art in the museum is what inspired him to want to learn how to make his own.

"The biggest learning for me so far is how to use that blending stump to really create so many different shades, hues, and particularly what we call values, the intensity of the color,” Neal said.

Aside from the artistic benefits, the class offers cognitive ones, too, by challenging the students' brains.

"It can help with all sorts of things from dementia, to Parkinson's, to Alzheimer's,” Lamberton said. “Getting into that flow state really unlocks part of your brain that you do not use every day."

The setting also creates a social connection.

"It is so easy to just sit at home in front of the television and this is a way to break that and get out, and do some other things, keep active,” said Neal.

The sessions are $130 for members adult 55+ and $155 for adult 55+.

For more information visit Philbrook.org