Older adults display their creative flair in 2025 ‘Reflections’ showcase

A program of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego that gives adults 55 and older a chance to express themselves through artistic creation is making their work available for museum-goers to see in what has become an annual tradition.

The La Jolla venue’s Reflections program offers several series of eight classes each.

This year’s “Reflections 2025 Showcase: Exploring Contemporary Art” opened in the museum’s Gordon Gray Gallery on July 31 and runs through Sunday, Aug. 24. It is available during public gallery hours from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.

Reflections participants were invited to submit their best works over the past year.

Since the program began in May 2023, the average class size has grown from 10 people to 25 while the number of series was trimmed from six to four.

“It’s been a wonderful program, and I think one of the most important things is the camaraderie that has been built,” said program co-organizer and museum educator Kelly Katan. “A big part of it is the relationships that have grown through this process.”

Brindan Byrne, a designer and Reflections participant since October 2023, said “It’s really fun because it’s not something that’s pressured. … It’s a very supportive environment to be creative. You can just chat or talk, or you don’t even need to do anything.”

Four themes were taught over the past year, each in an eight-week series: portraiture, sculptures, pop art and the elements.

For the most part, Katan said, she and co-organizer Frankie Martin try to keep things fresh for returning participants.

“We did one series that was a repeat, which was portraits, but because we had different inspiration pieces, the materials and techniques were all different,” Katan said.

For this year’s showcase lineup, participants took subject matter in their own directions.

“There are certain themes that kind of came up in the making this year,” Katan said. “There was a lot of work that had to do with global concerns and protecting our oceans. Our room has a wall of windows so we can look out on the ocean, so I think that was very inspirational for people.

“There’s also some pieces that deal with memory [and] materiality.”

One of Byrne’s paintings, “Fragile Democracy,” comprises three pieces inspired by the idea of repairing broken items and accepting the beauty in their imperfection. One of them is titled “Liz Cheney Cries,” featuring red tear drops falling between two pieces of orange and blue pottery, glued together with gold.

“This is in January and you’re looking out on this beautiful Pacific Ocean and you are making art and seeing what’s happening,” Byrne said. “And now here we are in [August] and it’s even more fragile, I would say.”

Other Reflections participants include Lorna Christensen and Sybil Carlson, both of whom hold an affinity for art but come from different career backgrounds. For the past two years, they’ve jumped at the opportunity offered in Reflections.

Christensen has taken art classes at Art on 30th in North Park and the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library and UC San Diego in La Jolla since retiring as a therapist.

With its assortment of materials, snacks and mingling time, the Reflections program tapped into a childlike joy, Christensen said. Two of her pieces — a collage of solar prints with indigo-dyed paper and water color and a piece of mobile art — made the cut for the showcase.

“Something in me was rehatched as I met other seniors who were also into having fun, learning and meeting new people,” Christensen said. “Our table of six began to call ourselves, and the class, ‘eldergarten,’ like kindergarten.

“Making new friends at my age, 74, was made easier because of the structure of the program and the people who showed up: intelligent, creative and playful.”

Carlson, who was born and raised in San Diego, spent her career in art education. She taught middle and high school students in Plano, Texas, where her focus was on art advocacy and interdisciplinary studies.

“For me, art has always been a way of exploring the world and finding meaning,” Carlson said. “As an art educator, I loved sharing that curiosity and seeing others learn how art could enrich their lives. The Reflections series has given me a place to reconnect with art and have fun creating with a lot of new friends.”

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