Tips for safe online dating for seniors

The internet has reshaped the way people communicate; it has also reshaped the way people find love. Courting no longer exists solely within the boundaries of blind dates and chance meetings. For seniors with a large community of family and social connections, it can be easy to meet potential companions in traditional settings. However, single or widowed seniors may find their circle of social companions much smaller.

Whether you’re seeking friendship, casual dating or a serious relationship, online dating can be a fun and effective way to meet new people. As with any internet activity, safety is a major concern for seniors when dating online. Here are a few simple rules and tips to remember when embarking on the journey of online dating.

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Atlanta Senior Life focuses on the interests, accomplishments and lifestyles of the active senior population in metro Atlanta. It aims to inspire readers to embrace a more rewarding life by informing them of opportunities to expand their horizons, express their talents and engage in their community.

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Ask friends and family about any experiences they’ve heard about or had themselves while dating online. Use the internet to search for site reviews instead of testimonials from others who have used those sites.

Find the right site

There are so many sites to choose from, it may take some time to find the right one for you. Many sites cater specifically to seniors, but popular sites like Match.com and eharmony.com also have significant user bases of “over 50.” Some sites focus more on serious relationships while others lean toward more casual situations. If you’re looking for a serious companion, you don’t want to be on a flirty, “hook up” site.

Oversharing information

Never share personal details (address, phone number, banking info) with anyone you chat with online. Also, be careful sharing family information, names of close relatives and photos of your home. The occasional individual with malicious intent could seek out this type of information for nefarious means. If anyone asks you questions you’re not comfortable answering, end contact with them immediately.

Meeting and moving forward

So, you’re ready to meet your online friend in person. Here are some safety tips:

→ Speak on the phone a few times before you meet. Make sure you feel comfortable with the person on the phone before meeting in person.

→ Make sure a family member or friend knows where you’ll be meeting and has the contact information and profile name of your online friend.

→ Make sure you select a well-lit public place where you feel safe, but that you don’t visit often.

Each month, 20,000 copies of Atlanta Senior Life are distributed to selected locations where active seniors live, work, volunteer and play in the north metro areas of Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties.

Online dating can be your doorway to finding a new circle of friends and, maybe, that special someone. Please remember to protect yourself by opening it cautiously.

By Isadora Pennington and Martha Nodar

Artistic expression is an incredibly powerful tool for self-discovery and growth. Whether you’ve been making art since your earliest memories, or discovered a love for it later in life, it’s never too late to embrace your inherent artistic abilities. Research supports the connection between artistic expression and extended cognitive function and increased quality of life for seniors. By continuing to learn technique and practice making art, many creative people find great fulfillment in making art during the later years of life, when the distractions of dayto- day life fall away and spare time becomes more plentiful.

It’s not only the act of making art that inspires and enlivens these seniors, however. Making art also serves as a testament to those parts of life which each artist values the most. When there are no limitations and no rules pertaining to what you create, many artists pull from their own personal experiences for their creations.

In some cases, as with the artists we interviewed, landscapes and natural scenes increase in popularity after retirement. The tranquility and beauty of those scenes that are found during walks and hikes in nature tend to stick around in the subconscious, begging for expression and realization. Light, movement, depth, color and shading combine to create complex and nuanced works that bring the viewer into the scene.

One such artist is Gary Baughman, whose pastel landscapes have won numerous awards throughout the southeast. Art has been a priority in Baughman’s life since his youth. “My playmate was a sheet of paper and a pencil,” he said with a laugh. As an only child growing up in the country, it was landscapes and farm animals that first piqued his interest as an artist.

Later, during his time at the Air Force

Academy, Baughman revisited his love for art by taking classes. Inspiration sprang from landscapes he saw while living in Colorado, and throughout his post-military career, when he was working in real estate. “My goal was always to make enough money to take art classes,” he explained.

Despite the fact that Baughman’s parents were never able to afford private lessons, he developed as a self-taught artist as a young man and then refined his skills with classes later in life. “I couldn’t figure out what a medium was,” he said, explaining that it was the discovery of pastels, due to their brilliance, which eventually caught his eye. Pastel is a medium that comes in fine powdery pigments of vibrant colors in the form of sticks or pencils.

Baughman first entered a piece into a show in 1993, and since then he has progressed to the point where he teaches others how to use watercolors, oils and pastels, mostly in Dallas, Ga. Most of his work is inspired by things he has seen and experienced during excursions in nature, often at the Kennesaw National Battlefield Park near his home. As he explains it, he takes pictures of things he sees with his mind and then recalls them later for paintings.

While on a walk, he might come across a scene or location that speaks to him, and then “a month later that will show up in a painting.” Although most of what Baughman creates is intentional and pulled from his personal experiences, he also likes to step outside of the box to create pieces by throwing paint at canvases and then creating something from the forms that appear.

For Baughman, art has been a consistent part of his life since he can remember, and continues to be important to him as time passes. It’s when he’s at work with his paint and tools that he feels most at home. “They’re kind of like old friends,” he explained.

Smyrna artist and Georgia native

Marsha Savage said she is a student at heart who approaches her craft with the goal of embracing the process rather than necessarily finishing a particular piece. It “is about the journey, not the destination,” she said.

Savage said she started painting at the encouragement of her best friend when she was staying at home as a young mother. Although she has attended some seminars in recent years, she refers to herself mostly as a self-taught artist.

For more than 40 years, Savage’s lush landscapes have been bringing the viewer to the scene. She has painted in several mediums such as oil and acrylic, but it is pastel painting that has captured her heart.

“I like pastel because it captures the nuances of color and it’s immediate,” Savage said. “I have the ability to layer it; there is no mixing involved and dries a little faster than other mediums.”

She added that when she is painting, she gets into a zone. “I let the painting tell me which direction to go,” she said. “It’s about loving what I do and being open to the experience.”

Consistent with her love of nature, in “Protecting the Crop,” Savage captures the scenery of a farm in Cumming. The piece depicts four scarecrows standing in attention overlooking the countryside.

Cover: Gary Baughman adds colors to a work in progress at his studio.

Opposite page: Top: Marsha Savage and her “Protecting the Crop”

Middle: Arthur Jones and his “Assisi Renaissance Celebration”

Bottom: Gary Baughman and his “Memories of Mother”

Below: Marsha Savage puts finishing touches on one of her works of art.

Always glad to share her technical skills, Savage is a mentor to many students. She admits that she learns something new every time she teaches.

She facilitates workshops in Georgia and sometimes out of state. One of her former students is Karen Margulis of Marietta, who, like Savage, is a member of the Southeastern Pastel Society, and who teams up with her to conduct workshops.

“Marsha has a sensitive eye for the beauty around her,” Margulis said. “Her love of the environment comes through in her paintings.”

Arthur Jones says he simply loves “to

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