{"id":27570,"date":"2025-11-07T10:19:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T10:19:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/27570\/"},"modified":"2025-11-07T10:19:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T10:19:18","slug":"the-clay-studios-claymobile-is-bringing-creativity-to-philly-seniors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/27570\/","title":{"rendered":"The Clay Studio\u2019s Claymobile is bringing creativity to Philly seniors"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a Thursday in Pennypack, a group of older adults gathered in the InnovAge<\/a> senior center, and began pressing their hands into clay \u2014 rolling it around, painting it and chatting with neighbors about their creations. For a population that often experiences loneliness and higher levels of isolation<\/a>, the creative and communal activity is more than welcome.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI love coming to this senior center here,\u201d said Patrick Curran, a 74-year-old retiree from East Germantown. \u201cJust to keep active. And, concerning the Claymobile, that\u2019s one of the better activities that the center has, as they go.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ceramics class that the seniors are taking part in, is part of the Clay Studio<\/a>\u2019s Claymobile \u2014\u00a0 an educational program that brings ceramic-making to sites across Philadelphia \u00e0 la designated vans (aka Claymobiles) that\u2019s been running for over three decades.<\/p>\n

\"\"Ceramics from Patrick Curran made through the Claymobile program. (Julia Binswanger\/ Billy Penn) <\/p>\n

When Billy Penn visited, two Clay Studio teachers were guiding the InnovAge group to mold and paint ceramic pumpkins. For Curran, working with clay is not only a way to get creative, it\u2019s also a way to keep active that doesn\u2019t put too much strain on his body.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so glad I can still move and get around,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve had four [surgeries], and I\u2019m going on my fifth. My first surgery was an open-heart surgery. My second surgery was a hiatal hernia. My third surgery was a stent in the neck, and then my fourth was for a broken hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite all of this, Curran is always excited for the Claymobile\u2019s monthly visits to InnovAge. Although he had never worked with clay before, he\u2019s found a passion for it. During the visit, he showed off a napkin holder and blue mug that he created in previous classes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love making stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cIt makes me happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Claymobile program visits a variety of sites around the greater Philadelphia area, including schools, juvenile centers, libraries and older adult centers like InnovAge.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe work with a lot of arthritic participants,\u201d said Tessa Kennamer, the Clay Studio\u2019s community engagement manager. \u201cSo figuring out projects that will allow them to still express themselves creatively, find really tangible and fruitful ways for them to organize their day and make something beautiful \u2014 while still having that barrier \u2014 is something really special about the program.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of what you\u2019re getting from ceramics\u2019 arts program is both the tactile technique-building and creative expression,\u201d she added. \u201cThey\u2019re getting to work with their hands, work on their motor skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

The idea that clay has healing properties is one that the Clay Studio is currently championing. The studio is hosting an exhibition called \u201cClay as Care<\/a>\u201d \u2014 all about the therapeutic and tactile nature of ceramic making \u2014 that runs through December.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The InnovAge center is not a nursing home, but provides older Philadelphians with care from doctors, nurses, and physical and occupational therapists. Many of InnovAge\u2019s seniors come in for meals. They also have recreational activities, like the ceramics class.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Malika Turner, a recreation specialist at InnovAge, has noticed the positive effects that the Claymobile program has had on the adults at the center.<\/p>\n

\u201cEssentially, our goal is to keep the participants and our seniors out of the nursing home,\u201d Turner said. \u201cOur participants start at age 55 ranging all the way up. I think our oldest participant is 100. Some of them may have had a stroke. Some of them have dementia. So working with the clay is really good therapy for their hands. It\u2019s a really good thing. Not only that, it\u2019s crafty for them, so they really enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Claymobile program comes to the InnovAge center about once a month. Two Clay Studio teachers guide the participants to make a specific craft, then they take it back to the studio, fire it in the kiln and bring their creations back for the next lessons.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of barriers to entry to getting clay and having a place to fire it and having a place to process it, but the actual medium itself is very intuitive,\u201d Kennamer said. \u201cThe act of pushing and pressing and molding requires focus and concentration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many at the center give their ceramics as gifts to family and grandchildren. Regina Gladyspeed, 61, who had just finished painting her pumpkin, was making plans to share the autumn-colored ceramic mug she had gotten back from the kiln.<\/p>\n

\"\"The participants at InnovAge were creating clay pumpkins. (Julia Binswanger\/ Billy Penn) <\/p>\n

\u201cI was gonna show it off to my daughter, because she swears I can\u2019t do this stuff,\u201d Gladyspeed said. \u201cI did this by myself \u2026 I\u2019m gonna show her this when I go up there for Thanksgiving, because it\u2019s so nice. And then when I get the pumpkin back, I\u2019m gonna take that as a gift.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Claymobile program has gotten many of its participants curious about ceramics and claymaking. Recently, the group went on a trip to tour the Clay Studio itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a really nice trip,\u201d Turner said. \u201cThey got to see other artists working on their work, and they got to see where the Claymobile fires their work, so they got to see the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many participants found this trip both fun and inspiring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw so many beautiful, beautiful things on the wall,\u201d said Rosa Marrero, an 81-year-old from Puerto Rico who has settled in Philly. \u201cI learned how beauty comes together, in a way \u2026 It\u2019s really, really amazing because you don\u2019t see that every day. You buy a lot of things, but you never know how they get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marrero said she wanted to take home all the ceramics she saw, but settled on buying a small vase.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s an enthusiasm to be together, to teach each other,\u201d Kennamer said. \u201cTo demonstrate one skill and share it, I think is really valuable for anybody, but particularly for people who don\u2019t have that built into their day through a job or through school.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Marrero, a lifelong creative who woodworks in her spare time, the Claymobile class is the perfect outlet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the touch in my hands,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m producing something. I\u2019m making something for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce it\u2019s touched by my hands,\u201d she added, \u201cit\u2019s in my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a Thursday in Pennypack, a group of older adults gathered in the InnovAge senior center, and began…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27571,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[18032,4877,18033,18034,7907,18035,18036,69,71,70,2355,18037],"class_list":{"0":"post-27570","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-aging-series","9":"tag-arts","10":"tag-clay","11":"tag-claymobile","12":"tag-creativity","13":"tag-innovage","14":"tag-older-adults","15":"tag-philadelphia","16":"tag-philadelphia-headlines","17":"tag-philadelphia-news","18":"tag-seniors","19":"tag-the-clay-studio"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}