Visitors to the National Museum Cardiff may be familiar with the art work of Renoir, Monet or Cezanne, but not an Ena Young original.
At 87, Mrs Young and the other 25 residents of Penpergwm House in Abergavenny, never imagined their artwork would be hanging alongside the famous works at the National Museum.
Treasures That Travel – Birds 2010, at the museum until March 2011, is the work not just of the elderly residents, but about 30 pupils from Llanfair Kilgeddin and Llanover primary schools.
The youngsters not only joined the residents for the three month project last April, but became their friends too.
Birds are the theme and the project studied not just their design but even their sounds, and residents, like Mrs Young, helped make ocarinas (primitive wind instruments) to mimic birdsong.
Professional community artist Vicky Wilson of Caldicot, the home’s activities development officer, was the driving force for the project and enlisted the support of museum staff to provided talks and expertise as well as 21 bird species from their outreach collection.
“I have been engaged by Penpergwm House on a freelance or part-time basis for five years and each year I bring about an arts project having once gained funding through the Arts Council for Wales for an inter-generational project.
“As activities development officer I regularly run Fine Arts and creative writing clubs with the aim of using the arts to improve the health and well-being of older people,” said Vicky.
She was born in England but moved to Wales, had her family and studied art and aesthetics as a mature student. Now in her fifties, she has worked as a community artist employed part-time by Blaenau Gwent council and has worked as a visual artist on many community arts projects across the UK.
“In my years of delivering arts to older people I have seen a positive transformation of the client. Some who have been unable to cope with everyday life situations have become motivated through the arts, increasingly rewarded and liberating those reluctant to acknowledge their talents and causing them to re-evaluate themselves.
“Art can reduce stress, anxiety and create a positive attitude to life and makes people very proud once they see their work exhibited at the National Museum,” she said.
Penpergwm owner Priscilla Llewelyn said: “It’s absolutely amazing, when I look back we did not realise where it would lead. Vicky was the power behind the scenes, and getting the school children in.
“There is a video of what has been achieved which is showing at the National Museum. There is all kind of art work surrounding the theme of birds.
“It’s always been my philosophy to engage our residents and day visitors in lots of activities. A home should be run as far as possible as part of the local community and it should keep people active, keeping people mentally active is equally important as looking after their physical needs.
“Homes where people sit around and do nothing I find utterly depressing and I would not want to be in that situation. A number of people when they first come to us are very depressed but when they are with us they start to enjoy life again.”
Mrs Young, married to husband Reg for 54 years, has two sons and four grandchildren, and was a government clerical worker.
“I helped make ocarinas, clay wind instruments and a flute made of swan bone. I thoroughly enjoyed it and loved working with the children. It helped me learn things I didn’t know before about birds.
“The last art work I did was at school. I’m 87 so that was a long time ago. It’s helped me with my confidence talking to the children, I was surprised at how much they know,” she said.
As activities development officer Vicky devises a programme which will either take the residents into the community or bring the community to them and this is how she ended up inviting local school children to the home.
Using birds as the theme they painted, created screen prints and made clay models – showing nature in design and design in nature.
With prints of a 35,000 year old flute, found in Germany, made from Whooper Swan bones, Vicky took the bones from a wing and neck of a dead swan provided by a local wetland and wildlife centre and recreated the flute.
The residents kept blogs which revealed how nervous some were at the prospect of working with young people but how they developed friendships as the project progressed.
“It was lovely to see the relationships developing and the true value of the project to the elders, the children and the professionals,” said Vicky.
