The Art of Aging

Throughout the semester, my documentary photojournalism class has been working on a rural health project with a graduate health & reporting class. In groups of 2-3, we tackled a county surrounding Athens-Clarke. I had Oconee County, an affluent county neighboring Athens. With an older population, we looked at elderly care, finding that the population was either wealthy enough to afford comfortable independent living or, for the most part, average and enjoyed resources of all kinds at senior centers. I focused on the benefits of artistic activities on the elderly, while the other two in my group looked at the benefits of staying social and staying active. The entire class’ projects are on the Grady Journal. Half of us did video, half audio slide show. I did a slide show, here. And, of course, some frames: 

Barney Roskopp, 86, began taking piano lessons 1 1/2 years ago simply because he has always loved classical music, the piano in particular, and had always wanted to learn how to play. 

 

Oconee County senior center is a haven for seniors looking to stay social and active. Many participate in crafts, including knitting and scrapbooking

Farida Salehbhai volunteered to teach knitting after she began attending the center:

Evelyn Hargrove quilts nearly every day:

Letitia Lumpkin has been quilting nearly her entire life, she proclaims that she simply “loves life:”