Art gallery reflects life at assisted living home

Aurelio Sanchez

Aug. 3, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Writer and painter Tom Poole knows that you go to Casa de Rosa Assisted Living not to die, but to live.

"For 10 years prior to coming here, I had felt no joy, no hope, nor anticipation for the future," Poole said, adding that he had been living in an elderly home bereft of life's most valuable gifts.

"Today, all of those blessings have come back to me."

Rudy "Pinon" Chavez Jr. and Joe Henry Romero once operated Passages Art Gallery in Corrales. They recognized the spiritual and regenerative powers of fine art. So they created Our Father's Garden, a finearts gallery in the midst of the five-acre Casa de Rosa Assisted Living Center on Guadalupe Trail in the North Valley.

Art at the center is everywhere: most apparent in the paintings and carvings of Romero, in the works of other artists housed in the 1,600-squarefoot gallery. But it's present also in the engaged smiles of friends eagerly waiting for the right letter to pop up so they can yell "bingo," in the giggles of children gently petting the heads of pygmy goats or stroking the ears of bunny rabbits in the center's petting zoo, in the flourish of a sunset or even in the musing of resident artist Poole, who now appreciates every nuance in nature.

Poole tells of one such nuance one recent morning when he watched from his window as a dignified visitor, dressed in gray and in a confident strut, approached the front gate pond. The visitor glanced in one direction, and then the other, and then stared again intently at the pond.

"I was fascinated, and wondered what he would do next," Poole said. "All at once, to my amazement, he made a little leap into the air, and then another.

"When he left, I went back to work, thinking what a great thing it is for Casa de Rosa to have the blessing of our New Mexico state bird."

A bit of whimsy, perhaps, but exactly the kind of expression Rudy Chavez Sr. says he encourages during campfire storytelling sessions, when he hopes all of the center's 40 residents will tell stories of their own lives that can be recorded in a book that he plans to ask Poole to write.

Rudy Chavez Jr. said the focus all along has been on incorporating art and beauty into the setting.

"We wanted to make this place not only as beautiful as we could for the people who live here, but to feel as much like home for them as we could," he said.

In creating the art gallery, Chavez Jr. and Romero cleaned out an abandoned building on the grounds and began renovating it themselves. The building is one of the oldest on the complex, having been part of the original home for the elderly once run for nearly 50 years by the Brothers of the Good Shepherd.

"Oh, it was a mess," Chavez Jr. said. "It was pretty trashed."

Undaunted, they jumped into the project, working tirelessly, clearing the building of trash, knocking out walls and adding windows to create space and light, adding a porch and outdoor stone picnic tables, stone waterfalls and ponds and grassed barbecue areas.

Romero is the painter and carver; Chavez Jr. the wood and stone worker and aspiring artist. They became friends and partners after Chavez Jr. bought a painting from Romero in the Corrales gallery. They later jointly operated the gallery before it was sold and closed.

The concept for Our Father's Garden grew from Rosa Sanchez, Chavez Jr.'s grandmother, who lived to 111 in a home for the elderly that had none of the amenities of Casa de Rosa. He remembered that when he went to visit her as a child, there was nothing for children to do.

"It was like a hospital setting with no yard and nothing to do except watch TV in a crowded room," he said.

Casa de Rosa includes a petting zoo, populated with miniature horses, a pair of alpacas, pygmy goats, rabbits and chickens. But the animal barn is not only for children, Chavez Jr. noted that he has researched several studies that show the presence of animals has a calming and beneficial influence for center residents.

The gallery will be open to the public, as will the center's amenities, Chavez Jr. said. Several artists who plan to show at the gallery have agreed to give workshops to residents and the public, he added.

Romero said a grand opening is planned on Aug. 16-17 with a barbecue, music and Native American and Aztec dance groups. Artists are needed for the opening. Contact Romero by e-mail at ourfathersgarden@yahoo. com.

"It will be open year-round for couples who want to have lunch, for teachers who want to bring their kids on a field trip, for anyone who wants to come and enjoy the beauty of the area."

If you go

WHAT: Grand opening of Our Father's Garden art gallery

WHEN: Aug. 16 and 17 all day both days, beginning at 9 a.m.

WHERE: 10127 Guadalupe NW, a half mile north of Alameda NW

HOW MUCH: Free. For more information, e-mail ourfathersgarden@yahoo.com

Newstex ID: KRTB-0010-27130733