Art in the Loft and the Alpena Senior Citizens Center have teamed up to offer sensory art classes for seniors with cognitive issues, dementia and Alzheimer’s, made possible in part through a $2,000 grant from the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan.

The program has been a pilot once a month since February, and now, with the additional funding, it will continue.

“It’s part of our Five Senses program,” said BJ Sander, program manager at the Alpena Senior Citizens Center.

Senior Center Director Annie Hepburn said the program is beneficial for both the person diagnosed with cognitive issues, dementia, or Alzheimer’s, and their caregiver.

Here is a close-up of the artwork Breckenridge created.

“It’s kind of a stress reliever,” said Hepburn. “It’s something they can do together. And a piece of artwork, every piece can be different, so it doesn’t matter if they complete the project, but they’re doing something that can bring back memories, help stimulate different senses.”

Art in the Loft Executive Director Justin Christensen-Cooper leads the class on a sensory journey.

“He talks about different senses while he’s going through it,” Hepburn said. “And, really, we’ve seen some pretty amazing art projects come out of people with cognitive issues, but also, just seniors that probably haven’t done art projects” in a long time.

“It’s called Art and the Five Senses, and it’s art for those with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers,” Christensen-Cooper said of the program.

Sander explained some of the strategies Christensen-Cooper uses to teach the class.

“We did an apple one time, and it was just pieces of different colored paper,” Sander said. “And, as we were making this apple, he was talking about the taste of an apple, and the smell, and going into an apple orchard and pulling an apple out of a tree, and he just took you on a journey that day, and … It’s almost like we were there.”

Up until recently, classes were held via Zoom because of the pandemic, but a class met at Art in the Loft earlier this month. Many of the participants that tuned in via Zoom are from Besser Senior Living Community.

“They have about 17 seniors that participate,” Hepburn said of Besser Senior Living Community. “It’s pretty neat to watch them.”

Sander and Hepburn have been participating in the projects along with the seniors.

“It’s been quite amazing,” Sander added. “To me, it’s been very rewarding to do that.”

She added that doing the projects helps the seniors focus on a task that does not have a lot of rules or steps to remember. It’s just a freeing way for them to take a break from the struggles of life.

“It’s something that they can sit down and do together,” Sander said of caregivers and their loved ones.

Christensen-Cooper said the grant will allow future classes to include culinary classes as well. For more information, call Art in the Loft at 989-356-4877.