Colonial House Director Misti Stanley and resident Emma Dotson receive art supplies from the Parkersburg Art Center. Residents of the facility are passing the time during the pandemic by expressing their artistic side with the help of the Art Center. (Photo Provided)

PARKERSBURG — The Parkersburg Art Center is lifting community spirits during the pandemic.

Staff at the Art Center is delivering art supplies to quarantined groups, such as the residents at the Colonial House Senior Living and at Recovery Point, in its Take and Make initiative.

The Art Center is keeping people engaged in creative and positive activities while they are stuck in their rooms, Jessie Siefert, art center managing director, said.

On Monday, the Art Center prepared and delivered care packages of art materials for the residents at the Colonial House on 23rd Street.

Misti Stanley, residence director at Colonial House, surveyed her residents and they requested watercolor supplies. Despite social distancing in their rooms, the staff at the Colonial House wanted to keep the residents involved in a variety of daily activities, so the seniors will be using the supplies and instructional packets to create their own watercolor paintings.

Jessie Siefert, executive director of the Parkersburg Art Center, hands a box of art supplies to Emma Dotson at the Colonial House in Parkersburg. The supplies help residents shut in by the pandemic to express themselves in artistic ways. (Photo Provided)

“The ladies are so excited to do a virtual art show,” Stanley said.

Materials also were delivered to Recovery Point, a residential substance abuse treatment center for men.

“We delivered canvas panels, mini display easels, paint brushes, acrylic paints and instructional books for the guys to use,” Siefert said. “Recovery Point has been on lock-down since mid-March, and the men have been unable to get out and work in the community through their Downtown Ambassadors Program.”

Artistic expression is good for the mental well being of the residents, according to Siefert.

“We’ve been concerned about them,” she said. “Making art can be very therapeutic. We hope this helps.”

“Number 34” by Kelley Cartwright, part of the outreach during the pandemic by the Parkersburg Art Center. (Photo Provided)

The Art Center also is reaching out to the community by virtual means through Facebook, Instagram and the Art Center’s website.

“We’re posting easy, at-home art projects for kids and parents on our Facebook page every day; simple things that can be done with everyday stuff,” Abby Hayhurst, artistic director for the art center, said. “We’re also posting book suggestions with a twist to engage teens and adults.”

The person who suggests a book also posts a photo representing the number of days people have been on lockdown, Hayhurst said. For example, Kelley Cartwright, “did a very cool ’34′” with a wrought iron address sign, Hayhurst said.

“Art is essential. It can lift your spirits and take your mind off the whacko stuff that’s going on in the world,” Hayhurst said. “We are thinking of new ways to carry out our mission and to support the community that supports us.”

Among the ways is an on-line tour of the exhibit that debuted before the mandatory closings because of the virus.

The “Shared Visions: The Passion of the Human Spirit” opened to the public on March 13. The following week, Ohio and West Virginia residents were asked to shelter at home to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

“Though we absolutely understand the necessity for closing our gallery, we were saddened by the fact that this wonderful show would not get an audience and that the artists would not be able to sell their work,” Siefert said.

Shawn Ott, an Art Center member and owner of the Revolve Agency, stepped into help. He volunteered to create a virtual tour of the exhibit with a video that is now featured on the art center’s website, Facebook and Instagram pages.

The exhibit showcases works from made by artists from Artbeat Studio of Parkersburg and Passion Works Studio of Athens. These studios serve artists with developmental differences.

“These talented artists are creating colorful masterpieces using up-cycled materials. They work in a collaborative process that fosters an environment of inclusion, abundance and compassion….and the artwork is fabulous! It’s bright and cheerful, exactly what we all need right now. I hope everyone goes to our website, takes the virtual tour, and then clicks on the virtual sales gallery and buys some of this artwork. It’s reasonably priced, and just like a visual vitamin,” Hayhurst said.

Visit the Art Center at www.parkersburgartcenter.org, or at https://www.facebook.com/parkersburgartcenter/ or https://www.instagram.com/parkersburgartcenter/. You can also send questions to info@parkersburgartcenter.org.