MARCH 2023
If you’re an artist aged 65 and older, don’t miss your chance to enter the 2023 Art is Ageless® juried art competition. We will accept works from March 22 through April 6.
Art is Ageless – continued on page 2
Entry Deadline 4 p.m., April 6, 2023
Artwork accepted beginning Mar 22. Please call to schedule a time for drop off or pick up from your home.
Exhibit Date/Time* 8 a.m.–4 p.m., Mon.–Fri.; 10 a.m.–2 p.m., Sat.–Sun. April 12–May 10, 2023
Atrium Gallery/Facebook
Reception 4 p.m., April 27, 2023 (winner’s announcement at 4:30 p.m.)
Atrium Gallery/Facebook
For more information, contact Andraya Taber at 620-343-2613 or visit ArtIsAgeless.org to enter online.
EDITOR’S NOTE: In a nod to our Presbyterian heritage, we regularly feature a column from a PMMA® chaplain in our newsletter. This month’s column comes from Robert “Bob” Griffin, chaplain at Topeka Presbyterian Manor®.
Punxsutawney
Phil saw his shadow on Groundhog Day. For those who gauge the future by a groundhog, that was supposed to mean we were going to have six more weeks of winter. For some, that might be a welcomed forecast. For others, the winter has dragged on long enough! So, as we turn the calendar to a new month in March, what are we to do? Glad you asked!
The Apostle Paul has wise advice for us:“…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things” (Philippians 4:8, NIV).
Sometime later, a man of much influence, Buddha, made this observation: “We are shaped by our thoughts, we become what we think.” What we think and how we think matters. Our thoughts influence our emotional, physical, and spiritual health. You’ve probably heard of “the winter blues.” The winter blues is a real thing!
In an article published on February 2nd
Chaplain–continued on page 2
Artists may choose to enter works for exhibit only. For the competition, the artist must have been 65 at the time of creation and have completed the work in the past five years (since January 2018). There are nine categories, as well as designations of amateur or professional. To arrange drop-off of artwork, contact Andraya Taber at 620-343-2613 or ataber@pmma.org.
An exhibit of the artwork entered is scheduled for April 12 – May 10, 2023. Winners of the Emporia Presbyterian Manor competition will then go on to compete with winners from 14 other PMMA (Presbyterian Manors of MidAmerica®) communities for the chance to appear in the 2024 Art is Ageless calendar.
You can find entry forms and more information at ArtIsAgeless.org. u
Chaplain – continued from page 1
“Verywellhealth.com” Nurse Carrie Madormo writes: “If you’ve ever found yourself feeling rather blah during the winter months, you have likely experienced the winter blues. This very common condition affects just about every one of us at some point when we notice a shift in our moods during the colder, darker days of winter. It’s normal to feel down, sluggish, or not quite yourself during this time.” The winter blues are real but we need not let them rob us of our joy and vitality in life.
One of the ways for us to cope with the winter blues, or a longer winter, is to control our thoughts. We can do that! We may not be able to control the temperature, snowfall, freezing rain, or groundhog, but we CAN control our thoughts.
Take your thoughts to a place, a person, or a thing that rings true of all that is good. Focus your thoughts on the pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy things of life. For me, it’s seeing a picture of my purely innocent two-year-old grandson with a bowl of spaghetti turned upside down on his head. Or, the sight of a lovely bright red cardinal sitting on a tree limb (perhaps trying to be inconspicuous but he’s too beautiful to go unnoticed!). Or a friend who sent me a note saying they were thinking of me – excellent! Whatever those things are for you, think about such things. You’ll smile more, enjoy life more, “…and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9, NIV).
Resource: www.verywellhealth.com/winter-blues u
Early in her life, resident Karen Wiley often felt like there was an artist hidden inside her waiting to get out.
“I was always interested in art but never had lessons or an outlet for it,” said Karen.
That all changed one Christmas when Karen’s husband surprised her with some lessons in China painting. “He was impressed with the pieces a lady had brought in at work, so he wanted me to start,” said Karen.
For the next five years, Karen studied with an instructor in Wichita, however when her husband’s job required the couple to move, it seemed like Karen’s career in art was over just as quickly as it had begun. “When we moved away, I didn’t have anyone to paint with, so I quit,” said Karen.
Eventually, Karen did try her hand at
other forms of art, but they all seemed to lack the usefulness of China painting.
“I did oil paintings for several years, but you run out of room on your walls and then your family does too, so you just paint for the fun of it and stack them in your garage,” said Karen.
It was both the functionality and the intricacies of China painting that would lead Karen back to the medium.
“It’s a fascinating medium because there are so many aspects to it. You not only paint with a mineral, you also do enamel work and luster work. There’s just so many different effects we can get on a piece of porcelain. It’s always a learning situation,” said Karen.
After Karen’s husband passed away, she decided it was time to teach what she had learned with others. But she’s noticed that interest in the medium has begun to wane.
“It’s a dying thing, and it’s too bad because there’s so many great things we can do with porcelain,” said Karen.
In the meantime, Karen is doing what she can to keep the artform alive by entering a piece into PMMA’s Art is Ageless® juried art competition. This year will be the second time Karen will have participated and she has high hopes for the piece she’s entering.
“I took it to the fair last year and got a purple ribbon…we’ll see what happens,” said Karen. u
2300 Industrial Rd. Emporia, KS 66801-6636
Congratulations to Emporia Presbyterian Manor for winning the 2023 Pinnacle Customer Experience Award, earned because of positive customer feedback through telephone surveys. Each month, residents and their representatives are randomly selected to participate in telephone satisfaction surveys conducted by Pinnacle Quality Insight. The graphic highlights recent survey results. All scores are given on a 5-point scale, with 5 being the highest score and 1 the lowest score. Between January and December 2022, Emporia Presbyterian Manor
residents and their families gave the community high scores for overall satisfaction, providing great nursing care, cleanliness and an easy move-in process. “They’re very kind,” said one resident about the staff. “They look after anything we need to have replaced or mended. We just appreciate everything.”
We greatly value the opinions of our residents and their representatives about the care and services we provide, and we encourage them to participate honestly when contacted by Pinnacle Quality Insight. All state and federal confidentiality laws are met in Pinnacle’s service. u