“What gerontology is increasingly showing us is that later life can be an especially creative age.” -- Dr. Gene Cohen, The Creative Age
Creative aging explores the vital relationship between creative expression and healthy aging.
-power, once thought to inevitably decline with age, actually experiences a surge of creativity and function well into the second half of life.
Peter Salmon became a full-time artist over 45 years ago. He draws and paints the life around him in Pennsyvlania, Vermont, and more recently in Pinellas County, Florida. Ten years ago he had triple by-pass surgery and four years ago he was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. His joints had bothered him so much he had scaled back his usual level of painting. He spent a week in Florida with his grandson who loved animals just as Peter had from an early age, so Peter painted him a portal mural of an African savannah. The warm weather and a charming grandson motivated him to get back to his usual level of painting. Today, his rheumatologist says he has a "touch" of rheumatoid arthritis.