This is art month at the Mansion, the Mansion Art Show will be held next Wednesday.

As part of the month, various artists have come in to show and talk about their work. Maria came in today, she brought her sewing machine, and the idea was that the residents (using the art tools you sent them) would draw and sketch ideas, and she would sit with them, watch them, and free-form draw them on her sewing machine.

The residents were into it, they all sat around the room and sketched their ideas and maria stitched them onto squares of fabric. Their sketches were inventive and surprising. Maria will return next week to help them turn these squares into pillows, so that the resident artists can hold and see and even lie on creations of their own.

I enjoyed sitting back and watching Maria and her loving and easy way with the students. We feel very close to them, and they seem to love and trust us.I get hugs all over the place at the Mansion, and not too many people want to hug me.

Maria has a gift for this work, one of the residents told her the same story over and over again for nearly an hour, and each time she heard it, Maria smiled and laughed and looked mesmerized, as if she was hearing it for the first time. I wonder if I have that patience.

It was a great class, fun and easy and creative.

The sketches were compelling, they said a lot. Next Wednesday, each resident will chose a piece of their art to hang in the Mansion Art Show. The first, second and third place winners will get lunch at the Round House Cafe. Other prizes will be gift certificates at Battenkill Books and some beads and bracelets from Over The Moon on Main Street.