Between February and March 2025, 2 groups of 10-11 older people (a total of 21) took part in the ‘Practical Art’ workshop organised within the ITOSA project.
The activity took place at RACT (Residenze per Anziani Città di Treviso), an ISRAA nursing home, and was conducted by educators. The older people involved, who are residents of the facility, joined 2 meetings in which they worked with pottery and made small heart-shaped objects.
Description
During the first meeting, the older people worked with pottery, first by rolling it out and then, with the help of small shapes, they created little hearts and other small handicrafts. Then, the objects were baked in cooperation with Cooperativa Solidarietà, a local NGO that provides a wide range of services for and with people with disabilities and for the local community in general.In the second meeting, the older people decorated and customised their small handicrafts as they wished. Once the items were ready, they were left for the participants to hang in their rooms.
The activity was positively evaluated by the older people, who appreciated it very much: they enjoyed getting to know other residents better and spending time together. Moreover, these activities are not usual, so the older people also had the opportunity to try something new. Initially, some of them were worried that they would not be able to do it, but in the end, they were surprised and enthusiastic about the work they did.
Follow-up
Taking into account that the workshop was appreciated, the educators engaged plan to organise new meetings and also to diversify the activity, perhaps using other materials. Moreover, the educators are also planning to organise a new series of meetings involving other senior residents.
In conclusion, considering the results, it could be beneficial to extend this activity to the other ISRAA nursing homes. With the fact that the educators will have the possibility to deepen this technique via the online Moodle platform, also those who did not directly take part in the ITOSA training workshops will benefit from the presented educational methods.