Art for everyone

KELLOGG –– “Art is everywhere.”

Betty Maxwell isn’t sure if that’s an original quote or not, but it’s how she lives her life.

Maxwell is a resident at Mountain Valley of Cascadia, a skilled nursing facility in Kellogg, but she’s had a passion for artistic expression for her entire life.

It helped her when she worked for the Kellogg School District for several years and now as Mountain Valley’s resident artist.

“I just really love being creative,” Maxwell said. “Whether it’s painting or even in the garden, there’s always some way to be creative and artistic.”

Along with Mountain Valley’s Activities Director Misty McEnany, they organized and hosted the facility’s first-ever art show earlier this month.

Maxwell approached McEnany and asked if they could add painting to the list of activities that were offered to the residents. While crafting is one of the many group activities that Mountain Valley makes available to its residents, painting was not one of the avenues that McEnany explored based on her own perceived limitations.

“Our residents thrive on the ability to craft and, now, paint,” McEnany said. “We do a lot of different activities, many of them based on their cognition level. A year ago when Betty said she wanted to start painting here I laughed because I didn’t know how I could help her.”

McEnany does not believe herself to be much of an artist outside of the baking arena, so she was nervous about stepping out of her comfort zone.

Fortunately, Maxwell was right there to be a part of the project, and before too long the doors and hallways of Mountain Valley were all adorned with paintings from the residents.

During the art show, the resident artists were allowed to display as many of their paintings and other creations as they could fit on the table – several of them had participated in the many different classes, all of varying degrees of skill and type.

“They’re all so proud of what they’ve done,” McEnany said. “They haven’t had the opportunity to show off what they’ve been doing with their family and friends, so we’re really excited to be able to do that here today.”

Everything from acrylics to pastels, some done with traditional brushes, others done with cotton swabs and even flowers – each artist offered something unique about their own creations.

“Betty is so creative and she helped me come up with fun and different ways for us to create,” McEnany said. “Our residents had so much fun. The ability to sit down and create something with your hands is very rewarding and they enjoy it so much.”

Mountain Valley’s kitchen staff even provided wine and chocolate-covered fruits and other treats that kept with the theme of a classy art show – at times it was almost like eating art.

While the art show meant a lot to the residents who participated, the ability to even have the show meant a lot to the facility’s administration.

“This was our first public event since we went into lockdown in 2020,” CEO Emilee Kulin said. “We used to do quite a bit of things with the community which was so beneficial for our residents – we’re excited to be able to get back to holding more events with the community again.”