Art classes bring joy to seniors

 

When Howard Hof teaches art classes at Shalom Towers, the lessons are free and so is the lively banter.

 

On Thursday the conversation topics included the Chicago Cubs, Billy Graham and "Russell the doughnut eater in the next room."

 

On this day, Hof, 77, a retired art teacher in the Mason City school system, guided Harvey Bailey, 75, and his brother, John, 73, with their pencil drawings.

 

"We do painting on Tuesdays, drawing on Thursdays," said Hof, sitting at the end of the table wearing a baseball cap with a Chicago Cubs insignia.

 

"Do you think the Cubs will be in the World Series in my lifetime?" he asked with a laugh, not expecting an answer.

 

"Russell the doughnut eater" is Russell McAfee, another of Hof's students, who said he heard about Hof's classes, decided to attend one and "got the bug." He's been attending them for several months.

 

"Howard's great," McAfee said. "He's got a great sense of humor and he knows how to teach. He knows which colors go with which colors and knows how to make pictures."

 

Harvey Bailey said, "I get demerits for being late to class," as he worked meticulously on his drawing under the watchful eye of Hof.

 

"He's a great teacher," said John Bailey. "When you start as an art student at age 73, it isn't easy."

 

John does not live at Shalom Towers. He lives in Clear Lake and comes to visit his brother frequently. He came to the art class one day to support his brother and liked it so much he became one of Hof's students.

 

"This is the humblest art school in the entire state of Iowa," said Hof, who provides his students with step-by-step guides on how to draw an object such as a knife or a car.

 

Each page of the guide, on sheets of paper stapled together, begins with an outline of an object and, page by page, all drawn by Hof, shows how to progress to finally arrive at a finished image.

 

"You have to give the illusion of 3-D," said Hof. "There is no depth to a piece of paper. You have to create it."

 

As he talked, the love he has for his craft was apparent.

 

"In art, you have to express yourself -- or sometimes it's an impression, like what your camera guy is doing over there," he said, pointing to a photographer. "An artist's eye is like a camera. You sketch your impression."

 

He was in full teaching mode now.

 

"An impression is something you see. An expression is something you feel. There is a difference between what you know and what you see. You draw what you see, not what you know," he said.

 

Mike Svejda, administrator of Good Shepherd Health Center, said he has seen Hof giving his classes.

 

"His students just have a ball," Svejda said. "He teaches like a professional and you kind of get mesmerized. It's amazing.

 

"And for Howard, there's a sense of self-worth and contributing something -- and that's importan,t too."

 

Hof said he started his art classes by accident.

 

"A woman I know gave me some art supplies," he said. "I wanted to repay her somehow so I offered to give her an art lesson.

 

"She agreed and then I got to thinking about it -- and I'm old fashioned enough that I didn't think it was such a good idea. It's kind of a Billy Graham thing, you know," Hof said with a grin. "Billy Graham said never get in a car alone with a woman."

 

So Hof invited a friend of his to join him when he gave the woman her lesson. The friend enjoyed it enough that he, too, wanted a lesson. Others heard about it and started coming. Now he has regular classes every Tuesday and Thursday for whoever wants to join in.

 

"It's the Shalom Art Students Society," he said proudly.