Beautiful Minds: Gwendolyn Aqui-Brooks and Bernard Brooks

Bernard Brooks and Gwendolyn Aqui-Brooks. Photo courtesy of WAMU.

Life as an artist can be solitary at times, spending long hours in the studio perfecting your work. But not so for Bernard Brooks, 72, and Gwen Aqui-Brooks, 65, artists who celebrated their third wedding anniversary last week. The cheerful couple, both retired professional artists, will always find companionship in their shared studio in Washington, DC.

While their marriage is relatively young, their friendship is not. They first met 45 years ago when Mr. Brooks worked with the father of Mrs. Aqui-Brooks, who was the chief curator at Howard University. As their careers progressed, they exhibited at many of the same shows and kept in touch. However it was not until a few years ago that a fateful exchanging of art led to their courtship.

Mr. Brooks and his cousin went over to Mrs. Aqui-Brooks’s place to drop off some artwork, and three hours of laughter and chatter later his cousin asked them if they realized how much they had in common. That question turned out to be the spark that ignited the flame, as the two went on their first date shortly after that.

Indeed, the two have a lot in common. Both have been surrounded by art their entire lives. Mrs. Aqui-Brooks credits her father and two very special teachers for fostering her love of the arts. Mr. Brooks also comes from an art family; his grandfather was an iron worker and his uncle was the first African American to instruct at the prestigious Maryland Institute College of Art.

These early influences led both Mr. Brooks and Mrs. Aqui-Brooks to seek further development in higher education. Mrs. Aqui-Brooks an Arts Education degree from Howard University and her Masters in Arts with a concentration in guidance in counseling from Trinity College. Mr. Brooks studied under a number of talented artists at Philadelphia College of the Art, University of Maryland and Howard University, from where he holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

The couple not only shares a penchant for learning, but teaching as well. Mr. Brooks has mentored over 60 students and interns in his career. Mrs. Aqui-Brooks chose to pass on her knowledge as an art teacher in the DC public school system for over nine years.  She also taught Kindergarten and Preschool for the HeadStart and art and English in Gambia in the Teachers for Africa program.

Mrs. Aqui-Brooks’s passion for traveling is shared by her husband. Between the two of them, you would be hard-pressed to name a place they haven’t been. Their travels are often the subject of their work. Mrs. Aqui-Brooks, a mixed media artist who also makes quilts and dolls, describes her work as mostly Afro-Caribbean influenced. Mr. Brooks too takes inspiration from his travels, using his observations for scenes in his mixed media or water color works.

Now, Mr. Brooks is retired after spending 26 years as the Chief Medical Illustrator at Howard University. Mrs. Aqui-Brooks has largely retired from her Art On Wheels program, which she ran since the late 80s. The program provided art opportunities to children without any, and Mrs. Aqui-Brooks will still occasionally bring the program to older adult centers in similar plights. She is also thankful for the very rewarding work she did as an art therapist for the disabled at the Better Treatment Center. As she said, “I’ve had a very interesting and challenging career.”

To say that the couple is retired is misleading though, as they were presented eight shows last year alone. The State Department recently purchased a piece from Mrs. Aqui-Brooks, “The Jazzy Drummer,” and Mr. Brooks, “Family Origin” for the embassy in Liberia.

"The Jazzy Drummer," Courtesy of U.S. Department of State

Both artists agree that making art is a great release and something they recommend every adult try. But to Mr. Brooks, the most important thing is finding something you can share. “What has really made my retirement fun is finding companionship, someone I can do things with that we both enjoy,” said Mr. Brooks, who insists there’s not a dance they can’t do or a dish they can’t cook. Few find the kind of love Mr. Brooks and Mrs. Aqui-Brooks found post-60, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t friendships to be formed based around the activities one loves. Finding someone with similar passions can be hard and it may take 45 years to really take off, but once you find that person, Mr. Brooks and Mrs. Aqui-Brooks can attest that it’s worth the wait. 

Beautiful Minds: Jerry Rothstein

“The gift of giving” is a common refrain around the holidays, but local paper editor Jerry Rothstein, 71, adheres to the concept year-round in interesting, engrossing and replicable ways. 

While he hasn’t always been an editor, Mr. Rothstein has been heavily involved in community development for most of his life. After getting his masters in Philosophy and Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, Mr. Rothstein moved north to Canada where he would spend over 25 years in hospice care.  The work was incredibly hard, helping patients become comfortable and assisting with the family’s grief. To spend decades in such an emotionally-demanding field seems beyond generous, but Mr. Rothstein did not see it that way. To him, the feeling of giving back and doing something important for the community far outweighed any hardships endured during the process. A career in hospice care instilled in Mr. Rothstein a sense of the importance of giving back to the community and what can be gained from doing so. 

Mr. Rothstein carried this belief with him when family circumstances brought him at the age of 64 to St. Paul, Minnesota in 2004, and the funding for the project he was working on remotely for Health Canada was cancelled.  When he found out there was an opening for the editor position of his community’s local paper, The Community Reporter, Mr. Rothstein knew he could contribute to St. Paul’s West End neighborhoods in a meaningful way.  In his time as editor, Mr. Rothstein says he has turned The Community Reporter into a “community of reporters.” Central to this philosophy was bringing in columnists in categories relevant to the community, such as arts and culture, spiritual life, gardening and health.  Mr. Rothstein and the rest of The Community Reporter staff have also made sure to form valuable partnerships with local organizations, further integrating the paper as a useful tool for the community.

Just like when Mr. Rothstein received as much as he gave to the hospice centers he worked at, working for the newspaper has been no different.  In addition to the priceless feeling of belonging to his new hometown, he also became heavily involved in several local boards like the West 7^th Business Association. Sitting on these boards provides Mr. Rothstein an even greater insight into the community and an excellent opportunity to gather material for the paper. The editor position has also exposed Mr. Rothstein to the potential of social media, giving him a keen interest in what might be accomplished with them. Mr. Rothstein has fully committed to the newspaper and his community and is now reaping the many benefits.

When he is not recruiting West End residents for the newspaper and empowering them to be part of the community, he is setting up his Gestalt Learning Program. Gestalt psychology, which emphasizes the integration of different components to form a whole, has been an interest of Mr. Rothstein since his Berkeley days. Now afforded the luxury of time, he wants to use this interest to aid those in his community whom he can help. The little time he has left over between his newspaper work and Gestalt work he devotes to writing—he is working on a book of philosophy and a book of poetry at present.

Mr. Rothstein has found there is no shortage of satisfaction that can be found from volunteering and helping the community.  He encourages others to get involved in their communities, arguing volunteers feel better and live healthier. He said, “Volunteer for a while and soon a light bulb will go on, and you’ll ask, who’s getting more, them or me?” For Mr. Rothstein, there’s only one right answer.

National Endowment for the Arts White Paper Released Today!

Today the National Endowment for the Arts released the exciting new white paper, The Arts and Human Development: Framing a National Research agenda for the Arts, Lifelong Learning, and Individual Well-Being.  The paper, coauthored by the National Center for Creative Aging, is the result of the March 2011 convening by the NEA and U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, which showcased research and practice of arts programming across the lifespan.  The white paper highlights research on arts across the lifespan; challenges and opportunities, including the need for more long-term arts research; and recommendations to the field, such as the establishment of a federal interagency task force to address the gaps and build research infrastructure for the field.  The NEA has since developed an interagency task force of 13 federal agencies and departments to encourage more and better research on how the arts help people reach their full potential at all stages of life.  Find out more about the task force!

Beautiful Minds: Sonia Usatch-Kuhn

Security and comfort are common human goals. And yet neuroscience reveals that living life in the same way every day, as comfortably and securely as possible, can increase cognitive impairment as we age. The brain requires challenge and new learning in order to stay healthy.  Therefore, a willingness to try new things and an adventurous attitude are important to healthy aging. It is this kind of spirit I encountered when I spoke with Sonia Usatch-Kuhn, who has adopted the practice of living outside her comfort zone.

Ms. Usatch-Kuhn's foray into creative exploration began in her 40s, during a time of transition. She returned to school and registered for a creative writing course, and the professor encouraged her to continue to write. She joined a poetry workshop group and was subsequently invited to be a guest reader on a local radio program called "The Sounds of Poetry." This led to an opportunity for her to produce and co-host the show over the next three years.

Ms. Usatch-Kuhn would be the first to say that creative expression is not about talent, but about the willingness to have faith in your natural ability. "One's natural ability," she emphasizes, "is ageless." It is that faith which enabled her to continue exploring her creative abilities, particularly with older adults. Forming a theatric group called PLAYing aROUND, this intergenerational group mounted three original productions, which were performed at assisted living facilities in New York. Ms. Usatch-Kuhn also formed I AM, a program for the residents of assisted living facilities. Under her direction, sixteen participants ranging in age from 78 to 101, participated in the writing of a book of poetic memoir titled "Living in the Rooms of our Lives."

Now 69 and living in North Carolina, Ms. Usatch-Kuhn continues to encourage seniors to explore their creative gifts. Her mental aerobics program Gray Matters enourages older adults to participate in yoga, poetry, humor, games, song, debate, theatrics and writing, no matter what limitations exist. "A focus on inclusion," she explains, "is more important than the end result."

As to what motivates her, Usatch-Kuhn states, "Working with mature and experienced people is an opportunity to witness and share in the joy of the creative spirit, theirs and my own."

Laura Swett: What do you see as the biggest obstacle to creative aging?
Sonia Usatch-Kuhn: I believe the greatest obstacle to creative aging is the perception that older people have lost passion and faith, necessary ingredients for living a rich and full life. Given the chance, the doldrums can be removed and replaced with a desire to reach out, feel the excitement, and become a participant.

LS: What wisdom can you pass on about aging?
SU: Aging is kind of like the lottery: you have to be in it to win it. If you want your life to be fulfilling and rich, you have to participate! Think about what you may have wanted years ago that you could not do. At the very least give it a try. Have enthusiasm, be excited; otherwise life is dull.

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Earlier this year, Sonia Usatch-Kuhn's short story The Birthday Party was published in the 2011 winter edition of Main Street Rag.  She is currently compiling and editing The Book of Asher, a memoir about a beloved community leader.

Learn more about the Beautiful Minds campaign, sponsored by life'sDHA™.

Written by Laura Swett, a volunteer with the National Center for Creative Aging. Laura is a former minister and licensed social worker pursuing an encore career in gerontology. She recently began her doctoral studies at Catholic University.

Beautiful Minds: Bebe Lavin

When discussing the important things in her life, Bebe Lavin emphasizes two subjects in particular: (1) older adults need to participate in the community, and (2) her grandchildren are truly the most brilliant children to have ever walked the earth. While she offers plenty of evidence for both claims, we’ll focus on the former and take the latter for granted.

After a long career as an educator, Mrs. Lavin jumped into the role as a supervisor of a creative development program at the Jewish Community Center of Columbus when she was 62, introducing numerous innovative programs for participants a decade or two her senior. For instance, she started a monthly paper that was written for the older adults, by the older adults. She also invited a local poet to teach about the limitlessness of poetry, facilitating discussions about what the participants had always dreamed of doing and how they still might reach their dreams. For those who imagined themselves as stand-up comedians, they got their chance during the comedy hour Mrs. Lavin staged. Then there was the whirlwind of operas, orchestras and ballets to celebrate Jewish, Muslim, and every other culture’s holidays. Mrs. Lavin poured her passion and energy into her programs, with the result of bringing these same traits out of the older adults she served.

Compelled by the enormous potential of intellectually stimulating programs, Mrs. Lavin looked beyond Columbus, Ohio, for more ideas. Far beyond. With a grant from the Columbus Foundation, she travelled to Denmark, the world leader in creative programs, where she studied how government-funded institutions engage their older adults. With their bountiful resources, Danish institutions are able to offer exciting and stimulating activities such as woodworking and film editing. The following year Mrs. Lavin was in the Middle East, observing the way Israel engages its citizens later in life.  She has used her inspiration from abroad to implement as many creative programs as her budget would allow.

Small budgets are only one obstacle for domestic programs, notes Mrs. Lavin. She has noticed from her travels and from her conversations with her Indonesian daughter-in-law that older adults around the world receive respect and appreciation from younger generations that you just don’t find in America. Laughing, she says, “Here, if a kid doesn’t backtalk you, you think there’s something wrong with him!”

Now retired from the community center, Mrs. Lavin continues to encourage older adults to participate in their communities through her newspaper columns. She is clear, however, that it’s a two-way street: not only do older adults have to make the effort to get involved, communities have to make the effort to involve them as well. She expands on this point in her books Everyone Has a Story and Life Beyond Bingo. “Not that I have anything against bingo,” joked Mrs. Lavin, “I don’t want anyone from the bingo industry suing me!” She just feels later life should be the time to live out the dreams one might have shelved earlier in life for various reasons--and brag about brilliant grandchildren, of course!

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Learn more about the Beautiful Minds campaign, sponsored by life’sDHA™.