Seniors who attend the Willowview Centre have found themselves immersed in a new creative art project.

It began with an end-of-year clean up of old craft supplies in the Abbotsford community centre. Participants began using clay and paints to express their inner Picasso.

One artist amongst the group had the idea to hang the clay creations from an umbrella, like a mobile.

Another Willowview particpant, June, visited the Collingwood Neighbourhood House and saw the opportunity for some colour to be added to brighten up the space for the children and families who use the building.

After a brainstorm, participants birthed the idea of decorating 4 umbrellas for the neighbourhood house, representing the 4 seasons.

June is leading the project, something that Willowview program worker Marie Packer is thrilled about.

"To have one of our seniors leading a project with the group is just fantastic. It means we know we have done our job and they are passionate about the activities we are doing together."

June explains "craft is a form of therapy. Many of us have experience in different crafts like crocheting and knitting. A lot of us haven't done crafts for a while, but once we've got back into it we've realised we haven't forgotten our talents".

The group meet once a week and work on the art project for a few hours.

Nina has been working on the summer umbrella for 6 months, almost single-handedly decorating and painting the whole thing. She has been known to take her umbrella home to work on. Nina jokes “sometimes I don't get to bed until after 2am” on days when working on the umbrella. "I have to set an alarm for midnight to remind me to put it down and go to bed!"

A lot of the participants don't have family around to support them, and they find company in their group at Willowview. One participant explains "in a way, this group is like my family".