Arts & Literature
Jennifer Sierra – Therapeutic Recreation Therapist / Art Teacher, Part of Five Stories to Brighten Our Spirits
The Bright Side of Lockdown in Peachtree Corners
We can all relate to the surreal feeling brought on by the coronavirus as we struggled with being caught in this bizarre new world that was difficult to believe yet impossible to ignore. We couldn’t help but feel shocked as it unfolded — it was unprecedented — although there had been a dreadful buzz in the air heading straight for us from miles away.
As our nation is sieged with controversy, climbing death rates, trepidation and uncertainty, I wanted to find some uplifting, local COVID-19 stories that would serve to brighten our spirits. This is part 5 of 5 stories to be posted.
In my quest to find uplifting stories amidst the COVID-19 wreckage of our 2020 dreams and aspirations, Jennifer Sierra was a beacon of light.
Pre-pandemic life for this industrious, Peachtree Corners mom was full. She owns and operates The Grateful Gourd, a company dedicated to providing art programs at assisted living, memory care and long-term care communities across Atlanta.
From Lithia springs to Cumming, Sierra shared her passion of 30 years — entertaining seniors, their caregivers and families with her “watercolor paint party on the go.”
She also led field trips for Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation as a part-time educator at The Environmental Heritage Center. Wednesday nights were dedicated to teaching young children at First Baptist Church Atlanta.
by Jennifer Sierra.
The Trifecta
When the pandemic touched our lives in Georgia, retirement communities, schools and churches shut down, leaving Sierra out of three jobs and in the same predicament as parents of school-aged children across the globe, propelled into the daunting new world of distance learning.
“It was really quite abrupt,” she recalled. “I ran my last program on March 10, and shortly thereafter communities started to close their doors. When I showed up for my scheduled art class on the 12th, they said, “Sorry, we can’t let anybody in,”” Sierra recounted.
On Pause
The Grateful Gourd business had been taking off for Sierra before things came to a screeching halt. “I was really kind of devastated. I was anticipating actually adding more communities. I had my calendar set through 2020 as many proactive vendors do,” Sierra said.
She was frustrated and lost because she truly loves working with the seniors and had put a lot of effort into building her company, only for it to be put on “complete pause.” Understanding the valid reason for this hiccup, Sierra still feels the sadness of uncertainty. “Is this going to be considered a phase 3 reopening? Nobody’s really sure when the communities are going to open up. The only thing I know is that everybody is ready,” Sierra said.
Change with the Times
Rather than dwell upon her own sorrows, Sierra thought of her senior friends. They’d regularly spend two hours together painting, laughing, exchanging stories about current events and memories of days gone by. She longed for them to have a positive experience even as they sheltered in place so they could remember their gatherings and maybe feel hopeful that her classes would soon resume.
“A few weeks in, something clicked inside of me and I decided to take initiative and do what I do in a slightly different way. I’d send my images to all of my staff contacts at these communities so the residents can continue to do what they love, even inside their individual rooms,” Sierra said.
She now creates drawings, specifically to be printed on paper meant for colored pencils, to ease the burden of the clean-up and sanitation necessary when using watercolors.
“At this particular time, I don’t want to give employees working in long-term care communities any more work because they have been working so unbelievably hard. They’ve even had the National Guard going in to clean. If you can imagine, they’re working even harder now,” Sierra said.
Free of charge, just to provide an activity for residents to pass some time and possibly recall the fun moments they’ve shared, Sierra mails her clients copies of her thoughtful drawings designed to conjure happy memories for the seniors who will color them.
“I knew that it would at least provide a smile. Just a smile, it’s something very small that I could contribute to help people feel good for a little while. I know it’s tough for them,” she said.
these to clients so her senior friends can have some fun activities to keep
them occupied while they are on lockdown due to Covid-19.
Leisure Times to Beat the Lockdown Blues
To further entertain her senior pals, Sierra started curating and delivering a monthly pamphlet of activities to help cheer them up as they endure long days of social distancing from friends and family.
The Leisure Times packet includes an image she draws for coloring, a large word search and a complete-the-verse music activity.
“I wanted to incorporate music because it’s so meaningful to people. You can be 80 and have some memory impairments, but some things — like music — stay. It’s such a great tool for those with memory loss because it takes them back to a happy place, maybe to their first kiss,” Sierra said.
The scrambled song lyrics are chosen with her audience in mind: “That’ll be the day … That I die.” “Sweet Mary Lou … I’m so in love with you.” “I found my thrill … On Blueberry Hill.” “They’ll have a good time, spend some time racking their brains and figuring it out,” she beamed.
Aware that some residents may be slightly confused, wondering why they can’t leave their rooms, Sierra hopes her pamphlet will provide a little distraction. She described how they approached her during her group visits — visibly anticipating some fun.
“We really do have a good time. That’s what I’m trying to create with Leisure Times. I hope it rings a bell for them and elicits that positive response,” Sierra explained.
Meals on Wheels
When closed schools eliminated her job with the Environmental Center, Sierra was transferred and began delivering meals to homebound seniors. “Gwinnett is a huge county and does a tremendous job providing many services. It’s really state-of-the-art,” she said.
From leading students on field trips to helping with food distribution lines, meal packing and delivering meals in a refrigerated truck, Sierra did not miss a beat or an opportunity to be grateful.
“It’s such a blessing. I got this job because of the coronavirus. I’m helping people and they’re helping me. It’s a symbiotic relationship,” she said.
Contact Gwinnett County Senior Services
Anyone 60 or older is considered a senior. If you or someone you know could use help with meals during the pandemic, contact Gwinnett County Senior Services at 678-377-4150.
The Grateful Gourd
If you’d like to book an entertaining and therapeutic art class once the assisted living and memory care communities reopen, contact Jennifer Sierra at thegratefulgourd@gmail.com.
As we fumble through this time of history-in-the-making, sometimes feeling powerless, I hope this feature has inspired you and brightened your day.
“If I can do this, in this teeny-weeny way, anybody can,” Jennifer Sierra said. “We all have certain gifts and you know what? All of the gifts that everybody on this planet has, are essential in some way.”
Local children’s author and illustrator, Katie Morgan Lester, recently released a new book — the third in her Morgan Farm Books series. Launched last year, Gracie the Goat is all about the importance of being a good listener. Inspired by Lester’s own pet goat from childhood, it tells the tale of Gracie and her adventures in meeting a new friend.
Gracie the Goat follows two previous titles in the series: Picky Pig Pete and Raymond the Rooster. Each of the books includes simple life lessons, as well as rhyming lines, watercolor illustrations and photos of the real animals the stories are based on — elements that appeal to younger kids as well as early readers.
We recently caught up with the Peachtree Corners author to hear more about her life, the book series and what inspires her work.
How long have you lived in Peachtree Corners?
My husband Mark and I have lived in Peachtree Corners for approximately 20 years. We knew even before having our son Brandon (who is now 17 years old and a junior at Norcross High School), that we loved the area and the people here.
We adore the street we live on with such loving neighbors. We’ve been blessed to be in Peachtree Corners with others providing such a sense of community.
In addition to creating children’s books, I am also a cardio instructor at the local YMCA, and I teach a part time preschool class and an after-school art class at Simpsonwood United Methodist Church.
What led you to want to write children’s books?
I grew up on a South Carolina farm with many types of animals. As a child and throughout my adulthood, I have loved to draw illustrations.
I graduated from Furman University with a studio art degree, [then] worked in advertising and marketing for 20 years but always did artwork as a side business — my favorite things to paint being children’s room décor and murals.
Once I had our son Brandon, I aspired to create a children’s book with my own illustrations to dedicate to him. I slowly began creating a rhyming story and the characters to include. I used the farm I grew up on as the setting, and all of the animal characters in my books are based on real ones from there.
Where did the idea for the series come from?
My maiden name is Morgan and the name of the farm I grew up on is Morgan Farms. The farm is the setting for all of my books. To use Morgan Farm Books as my series name came naturally and keeps me connected to my family roots.
Each book has an important message for children: Picky Pig Pete teaches children to try something new — whether that’s a new food or an activity — and can be a help to [those with picky eaters]. Raymond the Rooster is a great message that friends come in all colors, shapes and sizes. And Gracie the Goat teaches children to be good listeners.
While each book has its own story and can easily be purchased separately, I felt having a series title would connect my current and future books. It can also give encouragement for those that buy the books to want to continue the series.
How many books do you plan to write and illustrate in the series?
I enjoy writing and illustrating children’s books so much that I would love to continue for years to come. I do not have any specific number of books in mind, but will continue on as long as there are more farm animals and stories to write.
The third book is out now, and you’re working on the next one. Can you share anything about it?
I am currently writing my fourth book. As with the others, I’m pulling out one of the current animals to be the main character and hope to have it completed by the end of 2025. The message for that one will be about emotions.
Please keep checking in with me [at my website] as I’ll begin to provide more information on that book soon!
What ages are your books intended for?
The books are great for baby gifts all the way up to approximately eight years old. With the rhyming in each, the books are perfect for early readers. I do add a little bit of humor to each to make them enjoyable for parents as well.
Where can parents find your books?
The Morgan Farm Books can be purchased directly through me or my website. This allows me to write a personalized, encouraging note to your child(ren) and sign each one.
Website: morganfarmbooks.com/purchase-book
Instagram: instagram.com/morganfarmbooks
Facebook: facebook.com/morganfarmbooks
Combos may be purchased as well, which is a book paired with a small stuffed animal, lovingly packaged as a gift. I’m also available for in-person visits or virtual author/illustrator events featuring the books from my series.
For more information, visit morganfarmbooks.com.
The special exhibition of the Medford and Loraine Johnston Collection will run January 17 through May 25, 2025
In the mid-1970s, artist and Georgia State University professor Medford Johnston, along with his wife and collaborator Loraine, began collecting works by artists who were in the vanguard of contemporary art. Today, they hold one of the finest collections of postwar American drawings and related objects of its kind, now numbering more than 85 works.
In 2025, the High Museum of Art will present Thinking Eye, Seeing Mind: The Medford and Loraine Johnston Collection, featuring their collected works, which is a promised gift to the museum. Featuring artists such as Sol LeWitt, Brice Marden, Elizabeth Murray, Martin Puryear, Ed Ruscha, Al Taylor, Anne Truitt, Stanley Whitney and Terry Winters, among others, the exhibition will demonstrate how establishing the parameters of an art collection requires infinite patience, focus, discipline and a keen eye.
“The Johnstons have been friends of the High for a very long time. They’ve also built an impressive collection featuring works by many of the 20th century’s most significant abstract artists,” said the High’s Director Rand Suffolk. “We are honored that they have promised to leave their collection to the Museum where it will be preserved for future generations — and we are delighted that they are sharing it with our audiences now, hopefully inspiring the next generation of art collectors and supporters.”
A curated collection
The Johnstons’ story is a testament to, in the words of the High’s Wieland Family Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Michael Rooks, “knowing the difference between what is right and what is almost right” when building a collection.
Although the Johnstons acquired several paintings and objects when they first began collecting in 1972, they quickly narrowed their focus to drawing, primarily by artists working on the frontlines of abstraction in the mid-1960s during a time of great innovation and experimentation.
Rooks added, “Med and Loraine’s collection struck me at once by its single-minded focus on a specific moment in time, which was essentially the time of their contemporaries. The artists in their collection are like close friends to the Johnstons — in fact many are or were. What is equally astonishing about the collection is the Johnstons’ dogged pursuit of quality. Their in-depth knowledge of each artist’s practice combined with their understanding of specific qualities to look for — or more appropriately, to hold out for — will be a revelation to emerging collectors.”
The Johnstons have built their collection with the High in mind as the benefactor of their passion and discernment. For them, their collection “is a labor of love, pursued over more than 50 years, and we are delighted to be able to help the High Museum document and celebrate these important artists working during the same decades as our lives.”
About the exhibit
Thinking Eye, Seeing Mind: The Medford and Loraine Johnston Collection will be presented in the Special Exhibition Galleries on the second level of the High’s Stent Family Wing.
The exhibit is organized by the High Museum of Art and made possible through the generosity of sponsors:
- Premier Exhibition Series Sponsor Delta Air Lines, Inc.
- Premier Exhibition Series Supporters Mr. Joseph H. Boland, Jr., The Fay S. and W. Barrett Howell Family Foundation, Harry Norman Realtors and wish Foundation
- Benefactor Exhibition Series Supporters Robin and Hilton Howell
- Ambassador Exhibition Series Supporters Loomis Charitable Foundation and Mrs. Harriet H. Warren
- Contributing Exhibition Series Supporters Farideh and Al Azadi, Mary and Neil Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Baxter Jones, Megan and Garrett Langley, Margot and Danny McCaul, Wade A. Rakes II and Nicholas Miller and Belinda Stanley-Majors and Dwayne Majors.
Support has also been provided by the Alfred and Adele Davis Exhibition Endowment Fund, Anne Cox Chambers Exhibition Fund, Barbara Stewart Exhibition Fund, Dorothy Smith Hopkins Exhibition Endowment Fund, Eleanor McDonald Storza Exhibition Endowment Fund, The Fay and Barrett Howell Exhibition Fund, Forward Arts Foundation Exhibition Endowment Fund, Helen S. Lanier Endowment Fund, John H. and Wilhelmina D. Harland Exhibition Endowment Fund, Katherine Murphy Riley Special Exhibition Endowment Fund, Margaretta Taylor Exhibition Fund, RJR Nabisco Exhibition Endowment Fund and USI Insurance Services.
About the High Museum of Art
Located in the heart of Atlanta, the High Museum of Art connects with audiences from across the Southeast and around the world through its distinguished collection, dynamic schedule of special exhibitions and engaging community-focused programs.
Housed within facilities designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Richard Meier and Renzo Piano, the High features a collection of more than 19,000 works of art, including an extensive anthology of 19th- and 20th-century American fine and decorative arts; major holdings of photography and folk and self-taught work, especially that of artists from the American South; burgeoning collections of modern and contemporary art, including paintings, sculpture, new media and design; a growing collection of African art, with work dating from prehistory through the present; and significant holdings of European paintings and works on paper.
The High is dedicated to reflecting the diversity of its communities and offering a variety of exhibitions and educational programs that engage visitors with the world of art, the lives of artists and the creative process.
For more information about the High or to purchase tickets, visit high.org.
Top image: (from the collection) Terry Winters (American, born 1949), Orb, 2020, oil on paper, The Johnston Collection. © Terry Winters, Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery, New York.
The megahit musical Jersey Boys makes its regional premiere in City Springs Theatre Company’s (CSTC) first-ever, five-week run at the Byers Theatre in Sandy Springs.
Directed by Atlanta’s-own Shane DeLancey, and choreographed by Meg Gillentine, Jersey Boys tells the rags-to-riches story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. The show details their remarkable journey from the streets to the top of the charts, to their 1990 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Leading the cast of Jersey Boys is Haden Rider as Frankie Valli. Rider is a City Springs Theatre Company veteran, with recent roles in both Legally Blonde (Emmett) and Fiddler on the Roof (Perchik).
Presented by Resurgens Spine Center, Jersey Boys runs from July 12 through August 11, and shines a special spotlight on home-grown talent, as the show’s four leading men are all Atlanta-area residents.
With phenomenal music, memorable characters and great storytelling, Jersey Boys follows the fascinating evolution of four blue-collar kids who became one of the greatest successes in pop-music history.
“City Springs Theatre Company is very proud to be the first in the southeast region to present Jersey Boys,” said CSTC Artistic Director and Tony Award-winner Shuler Hensley. “Our audiences have been asking for this particular show since we opened. The production is truly stacked with talent onstage and off, and we’re pulling out all the stops to bring audiences an experience that will rival any previous version of the show.”
Jersey Boys premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2005, prior to its 13-year Broadway run, from 2005 to 2017. There have been productions of the show in Las Vegas, UK/Ireland, Toronto, Melbourne, Singapore, South Africa, the Netherlands, Japan, Dubai and China.
Jersey Boys features a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with music by Bob Gaudio, and lyrics by Bob Crewe.
Individual tickets to see Jersey Boys are on sale now ($42 – $108), with discounts for seniors, students, groups and active and retired military personnel.
CSTC’s Box Office is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Call 404-477-4365 or visit CitySpringsTheatre.com for more information.
This production contains adult language and is recommended for mature audiences.
Performance schedule:
Friday, July 12 | 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 13 | 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 14 | 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 16 | 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 17 | 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 18 | 8:00 p.m.
Friday, July 19 | 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 20 | 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 21 | 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 23 | 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 24 | 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 25 | 8:00 p.m.
Friday, July 26 | 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 27 | 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 28 | 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 30 | 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 31 | 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, August 1 | 8:00 p.m.
Friday, August 2 | 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 3 | 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 4 | 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, August 6 | 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, August 7 | 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, August 8 | 8:00 p.m.
Friday, August 9 | 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 10 | 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 11 | 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
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