Celebrating Casa and Su Casa Programs 2025

Demystifying Watercolor Workshop
By Clare Stokolosa

For this year’s Su-Casa grant at the Queens Center for Gay Seniors we started with all day workshops/open house on Wednesday, March 19th. Then the sessions began regularly once a week starting on Wednesday April 30th through June 25th. The last session was a showcase and celebration on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.

I focused the Demystifying Watercolor Workshop classes on teaching using both watercolor pencil techniques and tube paints with palettes. The participants had the opportunity to complete several projects, which they worked on over time. We worked with both objects in a still life and reference drawings. The class participants experimented with using reference drawings to create and make their own compositions and color choices. I showed them how to enlarge images as well as use carbon paper to transfer line drawings onto the watercolor paper. We explored composition and color mixing. Each project built on the prior project, yet someone was still able to join in even if they weren’t present for all of the prior activities. I introduced different techniques for the application of watercolor paint. We worked with watercolor pencils in a full range of colors and a limited palette made up of tube paints using only primary colors. The participants practice blending techniques and color mixing secondary colors, orange, violet and green and a variety of shades they could make from those colors. They also learned how to mix browns and black.

Many of the students had participated in past Watercolor Workshops and encouraged new members to join this year. There was no need for prior experience in art or watercolor painting. There was a real sense of camaraderie and sharing of ideas. The culminating activity was the presentation of the participants’ final pieces of art. Everyone’s work was framed in a white mat board

covered in a cellophane cover. They could take home and display their work in the mat and even put it into a frame if they chose. Each participant received a certificate, which was presented by Bert Shankle-Reyes who runs the center. There was a celebration with some light refreshments and dessert. Afterwards, I spoke with several of the students and we discussed their work, what they experienced and what they’d like to achieve in the future with their art. Each participant received a paint brush and two watercolor pencils. They also could keep their paint palettes so that they could continue their practice at home. This year I gave each participant a pallette with their name on it rather than taking a random palette to use during each session. I noticed it made a difference in their art practice and I believe gave them a sense of pride. I will share a few of the images I have from the workshops and the presentation.

Exploration of Queens Landmarks Workshop

by Deborah Camp

During the CASA 2025 art program at PS 209, we explored historic Queens landmarks utilizing traditional and nontraditional art materials from canvases to records and repurposed recycled materials. We used paint and mixed media to form 2 dimensional and 3-dimensional pieces. With each class they were able to express their ideas freely and refine their fine and gross motor skills within a fun and structured interactive hands-on environment for them to experience learning on a visionary, tactile and auditory level. With our art projects, we visited the Queens Botanical Garden, Steinway and Sons Pianos, various forms of transportation in Queens including the 7 train, the Unisphere, the Forest Park Carousel, Queens Public Library, Queens County Farm Museum, the Museum of Moving Image, the Louis Armstrong House and Weeping Beech Park. Some of our projects went beyond being visual pieces into interactive pieces that can be played with such as their carousel horses that moved up and down and mini story books incorporating writing elements along with illustrations. I opened the class with a discussion about the landmark to see if anyone has ever visited it and we would each share our experiences. I showed them an example piece to observe as a guide and created a new piece step by step to demonstrate the process visually as I gently guided them to help bring their ideas to life. We took inspiration from visual references such as seeing the Unisphere on screen to auditory references such as listening to Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.” By participating and creating a finished piece, each student experienced a sense of accomplishment for completing the project in their own unique way.

They expanded their skills in different mediums, developed their creative thinking process to form new ideas on what art is and how it can be created. It was inspiring to see my students grow and develop as eager learners and enrich their lives through the arts. When challenges arose to think of a solution such as when a student drew a horse and couldn’t fit the rest of the body, we used thinking outside of the box techniques of gluing another piece of paper to make it larger so that he could fit the rest of the horse’s body to show that there is always a solution to overcome a hurdle. At the end of each class, they each had an opportunity to do a show what they created and explain what inspired their piece. Their first project focusing on the Queens Botanical Garden painted with Q-Tips and cotton balls is on display in the hallway to inspire all of the students, staff and visitors as well as to validate their sense of artistic accomplishments. I shared my story of being an artist since I was a child and pursued it throughout my life, showed them my mural art and read a piece from my book “Musings Diner Open 24/7” to inspire them that anything we put our mind to is possible to achieve.

Funding provided by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs