Sebastopol high school senior Shayla Rose-Brown has always been inspired by her grandmother. Their relationship has had a profound effect on Rose-Brown, but in the last few years she’s become aware of the fact that friendships like this are rare. Her belief that connection across ages is important has led her to take matters into her own hands.
Rose-Brown, who has always loved to create visual art, attends Credo High School, where seniors are required to complete a final project and presentation in their last semester. For her project, Rose-Brown decided to use her artistic ability to foster cross-generational relationships by teaching an art class at the Sebastopol Senior Center.
“As a culture, we don’t value intergenerational connection,” said Rose-Brown, when asked what inspired her to start the class. “All my friends are my age, but there’s so much we can learn from people of all ages. This is a widespread issue, so I’m starting with change in my own community. And to me, art has always been a way of connecting with other people, so it made sense to start there.”
So far, Rose-Brown has taught three classes, which have overall been successful but presented obstacles that she didn’t see coming.
“The biggest challenge is people thinking that they’re bad at art,” she said, “and it’s hard to tell them that it’s not about being bad or good, just about the fact that no one else could have created what you did, and that’s special.”
When asked what her favorite experience has been so far, Rose-Brown described a class in which each member painted a place that had meant something to them in their lifetime.
“Half the people there painted rivers,” she said, smiling at the memory, “and we all got to know each other through the similarities.”
There are two more classes in the series: Thursday, March 12 and March 26, 3:15-4:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome.
