Council on Aging gets schooled in art history
Jill Sanford is teaching Mattapoisett’s Council on Aging members that art doesn’t have to be highbrow.
“A lot of people think you need a degree to get something out of art,” said Sanford. “It’s all about trusting your own instinct and looking closely to see what you can learn from it.”
Although Sanford does have a degree in art history, she also has 15 years of experience in making art accessible to people of all ages.
When she decided to go back to work after being a stay at home mom for 10 years, Sanford teamed up with a woman on the North Shore who taught art education classes to kids.
Teachers and principals often suggested that Sanford's lessons would be translatable to adult audiences. Eventually, she started Art For Your Mind and now leads a variety of classes on topics ranging from basic art history to more focused courses such as Ancient Greece or the Impressionists.
Sanford, who is planning to relocate from Hopkinton to Mattapoisett, said she likes to cap her classes at 25 so people feel comfortable interacting.
Council on Aging Director Jacqueline Coucci said the new program will be a good compliment to museum trips planned throughout the year.
“It allows people to better appreciate what they’re seeing wherever they go,” Coucci said.
For people with a background in art, she said, “This is still something they would appreciate. My perspective is even if you’ve taken a course, sometimes another instructor can come in and you can still gain something from it.”
The first one-hour lesson began with folk art from the early 19th century. Future classes will move chronologically through American art history, eventually ending with modern art. Coucci hopes to hold the classes three to four times a year.
Read more about Jill Sanford’s courses at www.artforyourmind.com. For information on the next art class, contact Coucci at 508-758-4110 or coadirector@mattapoisett.net.
