{"id":11040,"date":"2023-10-05T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-05T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graceworks-old.citizen55.com\/?p=11040"},"modified":"2026-01-06T19:02:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T00:02:19","slug":"library-exhibit-features-101-year-old-nursing-care-residents-collaborative-artwork","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/graceworks.org\/library-exhibit-features-101-year-old-nursing-care-residents-collaborative-artwork\/","title":{"rendered":"Library Exhibit Features 101-Year-Old Nursing Care Resident\u2019s Collaborative Artwork"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Photography Project Helped Bethany Village Senior<\/strong> With Memory Loss Connect With Family During Visits<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A collaborative art series featuring the talents of long-time Bethany Village resident Wally Willaman and his son-in-law Bill Franz, an amateur photographer, will be exhibited at the Dayton Metro Library second-floor gallery through Nov. 5, 2023*. The exhibit<\/a>, titled Jobs from A to Z<\/strong>, features 26 original works of art that were created using digital photography collage. Each piece features a photograph that corresponds to a letter of the alphabet and is signed by both artists.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

[*UPDATE 11\/4: The series is no longer on exhibit in Dayton. It is slated to go on display in Ann Arbor, MI<\/a> as part of Michigan Medicine\u2019s Gift of Art exhibition program from March 11 to May 31, 2024. Centerville’s Woodbourne Library will display the collection in June<\/a>.]<\/mark><\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"wally<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n

Franz was inspired to work with his father-in-law on the project after their visits became difficult because of Willaman\u2019s age-related memory loss. After hearing a story on the radio about a woman who used a project to connect with an aging family member, Franz decided to give the idea a try. The duo worked together on the A to Z series for six months and saved their work in a three-ring binder. Although reluctant to participate at first, 101-year-old Willaman grew to enjoy the project and was eager to work together during Franz\u2019 visits.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cThrough this experience, our time together transitioned from difficult to fun. Without a doubt we were brought closer by this project,\u201d says Franz. \u201cOur collaboration has also helped me to create better art, and I value my father-in-law\u2019s unique perspective and artistic process.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n
\r\n
\"\"\r\n
Bill says, “Wally loves the first piece in the series, A is for Accordionist, largely because he loves Charlie Campbell’s smile in that photo.”<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n
\"\"\r\n
When Charlie heard he had a fan at Bethany Village, he stopped by to meet Wally and to play his accordion for some of the residents!<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n
\"\"\r\n
Z is for Zookeeper | Jobs from A to Z series<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n

“Wally and I hope people have as much fun viewing this art as we did making it,” says Franz.<\/em><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

At times, the A to Z series involved other Bethany Village residents. When Willaman and Franz had a difficult time deciding how to proceed with an element in the series, Franz would bring in a box of donuts and set up a voting station to gauge which direction for the project was more popular.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Franz is continuing his efforts to engage with his father-in-law and other residents through art. He recently purchased a box of 100-year-old photographs at a garage sale and brings a few on each of his visits to Bethany Village. He sits with a group in the common area and together they concoct background stories for the people featured in the pictures.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n
\r\n

\u201cI hope that what Wally and I have created together inspires anyone struggling to connect with a loved one, no matter their age.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photography Project Helped Bethany Village Senior With Memory Loss Connect With Family During Visits A collaborative art series featuring the talents of long-time Bethany Village resident Wally Willaman and his son-in-law Bill Franz, an amateur photographer, will be exhibited at the Dayton Metro Library second-floor gallery through Nov. 5, 2023*. The exhibit, titled Jobs from A to Z, features 26 original works of art that were created using digital photography collage. Each piece features a photograph that corresponds to a letter of the alphabet and is signed by both artists. [*UPDATE 11\/4: The series is no longer on exhibit in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":11042,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bethany","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/graceworks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/graceworks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/graceworks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graceworks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graceworks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11040"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/graceworks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11588,"href":"https:\/\/graceworks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11040\/revisions\/11588"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graceworks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/graceworks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graceworks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graceworks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}