Dog
Tatiana Knobel  

This is a watercolor of my dog – my doctor. He and art helped (and keep helping me)to go through challenging times of pandemic. 

Carved in Avocado Seed
Jorge Jerez  

This way of engraving brings back memories of my childhood, when I watched my grandfather make rustic crafts that he found and shaped. Here I give him that vision of yesteryear.

Halloween Pumpkin Following CDC Guidelines
Judith Mortillo  

Our tradition is to decorate our apartment’s front door. COVID-19 wasn’t going to change that. Our Pumpkin followed CDC guidelines, making our neighbors and our Pumpkin feel safe. 

The Star Baker Is...
Deb Scher

Baking has been therapeutic to me in stressful times since I was a child. In a chaotic world, full of things we can't control, the science of baking is comforting. If I follow instructions and have some patience, something usually awaits me at the end. It also is a way I show love and appreciation - sharing baked goods with family, friends, and colleagues is where much of the joy comes from. In March, when all shutdown, I was baking up a storm, it was all I could do to keep myself sane.

Living alone, my trusty Kitchen Aid stand mixer became my companion, and together, we explored new techniques, as many pizza dough recipes as we could find, new flours (since all-purpose and bread were hard to come by) like rye and semolina, and items on the covers of magazines we were staring at for months (like cinnamon buns). Baking provided me some light during these dark times. But my freezer also got more crowded, and there was always the sadness of not being able to easily share these new creations.

As the months turned warmer, and I was able to meet up with people outside. I finally got to share treats and a laugh with people I care about, which provided more nourishment than baking bread or sweets ever could. My Kitchen Aid mixer still gets used often, but certainly gets more of a break than it was a year ago. 

The Boomers Are Now “Zoom”ers!
Cory Michael Herman   

The Alliance Stage Company is an incredible group of older adults at Educational Alliance’s Weinberg and Sirovich Centers who participate in a weekly senior theater program located on Manhattan’s East Village and Lower East Side—and for the last 12-months, virtually. Members range in age, from sixty to ninety-seven years old, and since the start of the pandemic have all logged in to attend online classes. As you can imagine, this was easier for some than others. We had one member start quarantine in her New York City apartment with only a rotary telephone! With the help of social programs, she and many others now have the proper equipment to attend classes.

Over the last 52-weeks, the Alliance Stage Company has explored what theater really means, while redefining it for a virtual platform. The group has recorded digital theater pieces, performed virtually, written monologues and poetry about life during Covid-19, filmed public service announcements, started social media pages, and participated in remote “field trips.” It has been a powerful lesson in how senior citizens can adapt when provided proper devices and instruction; how art is a valuable creative outlet for our community affecting positive change; how these acting classes have served as a reduction in social isolation connecting members to friends and family; and how technology has allowed seniors to stay civically engaged. 

SPEAK Sheila Logrono 

In October of 2020, out of COVID darkness, an alliance was born. SPEAK —an acronym for Seward Park Educational Alliance Kommunity (with a K) — is a gardening project, in partnership between SALT (the Senior Advocacy Leadership Team) and the Seward Park Conservancy Group.

The SALT is a team of self-directed senior activists based at the Manny Cantor Center of the Educational Alliance on the Lower East Side of New York City. Our mission is to address issues of concern to our senior population in the Lower East Side and to advocate on their behalf in the different political, social, or cultural forums at the different levels ranging from city hall, community boards, and other media that may impact the lives of seniors or their quality of life. 

SPEAK is finding a rainbow at Twighlight, [along with] a pot of gold in the last quarter of my life. With our mission of establishing an ‘age friendly’ community, and housing and safety seemingly elusive in the face of homelessness and racism, we imagined a garden as a sanctuary for the frustrated, the angry, the isolated, tired people [to find peace]. Thus, creating a healthier and friendlier community for all, especially the seniors.

This spring we went in with full force, planting and filling the park with gorgeous rose climbers, clematis and perennials. 

The frame is made from real pressed flowers [a practice I picked up in high school] — spirea, verbena, wax flower, anne’s lace and larkspur. The leaves are from the locust tree.