Creative Aging for 55+

Claire Obermarck is a traditional oral Storyteller specializing in British & Celtic folktales. Working with all ages, her Storytelling has been utilized by festivals, prisons, recovery programs, historians, archeologists, architects, health services, charities and even Scottish Parliament.

Claire is the former Chair & programmer of Edinburgh’s oldest Storytelling club ‘The Guid Crack’ and was mentored by Master Storyteller David Campbell amongst others.

Claire provides workshops through the City Chambers Artist in the Classroom Directory, hosts Storytelling by the Friends Fireside at Sedona Public Library, and special Storytelling events at the Sedona Center for Harmony & Enrichment. She is a Certified Facilitator for Timeslips.  She is currently working on a collection of short stories.

Ed Buonvecchio is an award-winning professional artist and avid hiker. He has taught drawing and painting at various levels for years. As a plein air painter, his passion is painting the landscapes he experiences in his outdoor journeys.

“Plein air painting has been an extension of my love for nature and the outdoors. It is always an adventure and challenge to me! The more I paint outdoors the more intimate I become with our Earth and the more I can share this intimacy and value for our environment with others. It is the journey and adventure to complete a study or finish a painting that keeps me going out for more.

My medium of choice is oil. I prefer oil paints because they are time proven. They remain open so that one can have time to blend and adjust. Oils also remain workable for plein air painting in a wide range of temperatures allowing for cold winter and hot summer conditions.

My wife and I recently returned to Arizona in the Sedona area. After living and painting in Maine, I will continue my quest to paint the landscape in our new home capturing the raw beauty of the desert southwest. 

I was born in 1950 and raised in Camillus, New York. I graduated from S.U.N.Y. Buffalo with a BFA in Communication Design. I began my career as a graphic designer and illustrator in design firms and advertising agencies in the Central New York region. I then established a freelance business in design, Illustration and public art mural painting before moving on to a fine art career.

Through the years I have been involved with community service. Before moving to Maine I served on the City of Goodyear Arts and Culture Commission, Three Rivers Historical Society Board of Directors, founder and designer of the Estrella Mountain Regional Park Centennial Trail and Chairman of the Centennial Trail Planning Committee. For two years I was the Master Artist for “Gallery 37″, the West Valley Arts Council’s public art program, directing high school art students to design, present and produce public art for municipal clients.”

An equally accomplished painter, illustrator, writer and graphic designer, it’s safe to say that Patricia’s creativity is her passion.

Her professional history includes serving clientele from several Fortune 500 companies over the course of her 35+ years as the creative engine behind design & illustration firm Saxton Studio, as well as author-illustrating an inspirational design book and three best-selling children’s books, 20+ years designing books for other authors – and pretty much an entire lifetime of award-winning drawing and painting. Fluidly shifting between realism and abstraction, her approach across mediums is both intuitive and disciplined, incorporating an eye for detail, a spirit of originality, and a deep sensitivity for light and color.

With nature and imagination as constant muses, the work of creating daily, sharing her experience and inspiring others to embrace their own unique gifts are just a few of her favorite things.

You can learn more at patriciasaxton.com and follow her work on Facebook and Instagram.

Julie Richard is the Chief Executive Officer of the Sedona Arts Center.

She is an avid hiker and art and nature journaling enthusiast. She is a published writer and self-taught artist, picking up pointers from her professional artist husband, Ed Buonvecchio, along the way. Julie has learned to adapt her limited drawing skills to document her journeys along the way.