When Tracy Warzer was in her twenties, she wove a hammock out of her father’s neckties and gifted it to him for Father’s Day. She later became a licensed art therapist and now serves as the senior outreach coordinator for the Sea Cliff Senior Outreach Network.
Warzer’s passion and Sea Cliff Village Museum’s textile exhibit inspired the event “Exploring Our History through the Stories of Textile Artifacts” on June 19.
On display at the museum are items people would have made in their homes like garments, quilts and doilies. Seniors in the community were invited to share any item of cloth or woven fabric, known as textiles. Students grades seven to 12 were welcome to come listen to the seniors’ stories and connect with them.
“(The students) can learn so much about history from them, and just about our own American culture,” said Courtney Chambers, museum director. “So I think it's just such a fantastic thing for the kids, and I think the seniors enjoy it as well.”
Warzer described the event as part of an effort by the senior outreach network to create an “age friendly concept.” Senior participants arrived with personal mementos like clothing, pillows and quilts. Sea Cliff resident Yohko Tanaka-Doran shared kimonos with the group, some of which were decorated with hand sewn designs.
She explained how people in Japan wear brighter or more subdued colors depending on their age and how there are different kimonos for different seasons. “I have quite a few of them,” Tanaka-Doran said. “From my grandmother to mother to (me).”
Learning about cultures was a highlight of the event, Tanaka-Doran added. “I like to learn things,” she said. “And a lot of times you don't know unless you go to that type of thing, and then you find out a lot of things that other people do or did.”|
Tanaka-Doran offered the teens in the room the opportunity to try on one of the kimonos. Chambers’ daughter, Maizie Lippert, volunteered. “It’s inspiring me to do more craft stuff,” Lippert said. The North Shore High School student described the event as “really cool.”
Warzer emphasized the importance of connection between the seniors and students at the gathering. This was the second collaboration between Chambers and Warzer. Both women said they hope to hold events together once or twice a year going forward.
“That's a wonderful teaching opportunity for the seniors to be able to impart narrative, personal narratives, stories through artifacts,” Warzer said. “And artifacts are storytelling objects. It gives the students an opportunity to hear the stories that come directly from the seniors.”
