Flowers may fade, but the ones created by seniors at the Sandel Senior Center recently were designed to last a little longer.
About 20 seniors gathered at the center on Sept. 22 for a pressed flower art project led by Ashley Carey, the recreation director at Rockville Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. Carey was assisted by rehab center intern Calistus Nwuzot, while Jill Minelli, a member of Rockville Rehab’s management team who works in marketing, oversaw the project.
The project gave the seniors an opportunity to create artwork using pressed flowers arranged on canvases provided for the activity. Pressed flower art involves placing flowers that have been flattened and dried onto a surface to create a decorative design. The flowers can be arranged into patterns or other compositions before being attached to the canvas, turning natural materials into a piece of artwork.
Meagan McBride, a licensed master social worker and social worker with the Village of Rockville Centre, said the finished pieces reflected the individual creativity of each participant.
“It was wonderful to see how unique each finished piece turned out,” McBride said. “The project truly highlighted everyone’s creativity. Each member was so excited to show off their finished design and share where they planned to display it in their home.”
The activity was part of Rockville Rehab’s effort to get more involved in the local community and create opportunities to interact with seniors at area centers. Minelli said she reached out to representatives at the Sandel Center about bringing Rockville Rehab to the center for a project, and the two organizations arranged the activity.
The visit is intended to be more than a one-time event. Minelli said Rockville Rehab plans to continue working with the Sandel Senior Center on projects and lectures for its seniors.
“Moving forward, we're going to keep going in there and doing projects and lectures as well for the seniors, because most of those seniors are very local to us,” she said.
Minelli described Carey as an important part of making the afternoon successful, particularly because of her ability to work with seniors.
“Serving our community is our priority,” Minelli said. “The warmth and wisdom of our seniors is so important to us, and Ashley is wonderful when it comes to engaging with our seniors.”
The response from the seniors was positive, Minelli said, with participants asking when Rockville Rehab would return. The outreach also provides an opportunity to become more connected with the community surrounding the facility.
“I think it's good because it gets us involved in the community,” Minelli said. “It gets our name out there, if somebody needs something, and it makes people aware that we're here in case they need us.”
For Minelli, the clearest takeaway from the afternoon was the reaction of the seniors themselves.
“The seniors were so happy,” she said. “They can't wait for us to come back.”
