Maintaining a sense of purpose is vital to keeping your golden years as vibrant as possible, and arts and crafts are among the most accessible and rewarding activities. The Capstone at Station Camp offers crafts for seniors, like clay crafts, wreaths, and gardening decor. Residents are also free to pursue whatever enrichment activities they wish, from knitting and crochet to painting and sculpture.
According to Healthline, seniors who regularly engage in arts and crafts in groups have lower levels of loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Calming crafts like knitting and crocheting, in particular, also improve senior hand-eye coordination and even reduce the risk of dementia.
If you're a senior or a caregiver in Gallatin, TN, keep reading to learn more about various senior art programs at The Capstone at Station Camp.
Crafts posted on the social activities calendar rotate monthly. They often revolve around seasonal themes, like harvest-inspired crafts for Thanksgiving or wreaths for December. Pumpkin-related crafts are offered during October, and residents and caregivers can expect egg-inspired or springtime crafts during March and April.
What's great about clay is that it can be adapted to any craft theme, from seasonal to evergreen themes like picture frames. Working with clay also improves senior dexterity and focus.
These types of crafts use non-toxic polymer clay, which can also be baked in the oven to harden. Clay activities are wonderful intergenerational projects to enjoy with grandchildren, forging stronger bonds within families.
The possibilities are endless with polymer clay. You'll need parchment paper to prevent the clay from sticking to the surface. The following tools can help create more detailed creations:
After baking your creations, cover them in varnish to protect your artworks. Create festive decor for the holidays, like snowmen or gingerbread men.
Wreaths are typically synonymous with autumn and winter decor, but you can make these crafts year-round. Spring-inspired wreaths are particularly vibrant with bright greenery and vibrant dried flowers; you could even create ladybugs out of polymer clay and add them to your spring or summer wreath.
For autumn, consider creating dried apples for your senior wreath project. They'll also give your wreath a classic fall scent. For an even more fragrant wreath, weave in clove and cinnamon sticks, as well as star anise.
Side note: These ingredients can also go into a festive autumn simmer pot!
Again, this craft also improves senior hand-eye coordination. Plus, Country Living Magazine notes the importance of learning a new skill for confidence and self-esteem, two vital qualities for improving emotional wellness in seniors.
Working together to create seasonal wreaths for the community is an excellent way to bring residents together at the Capstone at Station Camp. It's also an example of shared purpose.
Gardening brings people outdoors to not only work with their hands, improving dexterity, but also enjoy the benefits of fresh air for cognitive health.
Studies highlighted by the University of California in Davis note how fresh air improves focus while reducing mental fatigue. Combining gardening with arts and crafts really merges the best of both worlds.
On the calendar, residents will find seasonal flowerpot decorating activities, turning flower pots into colorful turkeys with pottery paint and varnish. Adding an extra layer of water sealant can help protect these creations in the garden.
You can also create "garden people" by placing one flower pot upside down on the ground and placing the other right side up on top of the other. For springtime, you can create "bee people" pots with black and yellow stripes, and plant flowers that draw more bees to the garden, like lavender and asters.
Crafts are an excellent gateway to more complex art projects like sculpture. Seniors can also explore pottery on their own at the Capstone at Station Camp or through art classes in the Gallatin community.
Mosaics are a good option for sculpture crafts for beginners. These projects are typically enjoyed outside, allowing seniors to get even more precious vitamin D.
This craft requires either a mold or a large outdoor dish, like a terracotta planting saucer. You'll also need a cement or plaster mixture; mosaic-specific cement is also available.
Next, you'll need to gather your mosaic pieces, such as:
Wear gardening gloves to protect your hands when handling these items.
Coiling sculpture is another satisfying craft project for sculpture newbies. You can also start with making small, handheld coil pots from polymer clay before advancing to larger pieces made with moist pottery clay. You'll need an extra dish of water to keep the coils moist as you wrap your way toward the final creation!
It's never too late to take up painting. This art project can be approached in countless ways, from free-flowing abstract art to beginner still lifes.
You can always start with a beginner's painting book to learn introductory techniques like washes, blending, and brush strokes. These books also show beginners how to paint simple trees and clouds, including how to capture dimension in a landscape composition.
Rock painting is a relaxing activity that welcomes the beauty and fresh air of the outdoors. You could take a seasonal approach to rock painting, turning smoothed, round rocks into snowmen faces or jack-o-lanterns. Paint colorful stripes on smooth pebbles to create Easter eggs!
Whether you're looking for creative outlets in memory care or assisted living, you can depend on The Capstone at Station Camp to have the right crafts for seniors. Check the calendar for monthly offerings, as well as projects geared toward improving senior hand-eye coordination and emotional wellness.
The team at The Campstone at Station Camp invites you to tour the community to see these activities first-hand. During your tour, discover more amenities, including a fitness center, bistro, and salon.
Contact us today to get started!