Aylmer art school brings free pottery workshop to seniors

Tashi Farmilo

LoulArt École des Beaux-Arts brought clay, colour, and a warm afternoon of creativity to a group of adults 55 and over on April 27, hosting a free pottery and painting workshop at the Aylmer Community House on rue du Couvent. The event was organized in partnership with the Partenaires du Secteur Aylmer, a local social development table representing roughly 50 community and institutional members.

The art school was founded by Khaoula Marsaoui, a Tunisian-born artist and educator based in Aylmer, who has a background in interior architecture and has spent years working in arts education with children and adults across the region. About three years ago she launched LoulArt out of a conviction that most people carry an artistic instinct they have simply never been given the space to explore. She started by renting the basement at the Chevaliers de Colomb hall, a place she still speaks of with particular fondness, and the school has since grown steadily.

Marsaoui developed her approach in direct response to what she sees as the damage done by conventional art instruction, where rigid models, fixed time limits, and the expectation of perfect replication discourage people from ever trying again. She is particularly troubled by the way children are taught to colour inside the lines and match a teacher's model exactly. "It kills creativity," she said. "Creativity doesn't want a fixed clock. It doesn't want to be told what colours to use."

Her goal with LoulArt is to dismantle that reluctance, particularly for older adults who have long since concluded that art is not for them. She has witnessed the results firsthand. "There are women of 60 who come in and they make masterpieces," she said. "There was one woman who hadn't touched a brush since she was in kindergarten. She was 48. And now she makes masterpieces." For Marsaoui, those moments are the whole point of the school. "We are all born artists," she said. "Some of us just haven't had the chance to try."

At LoulArt, participants are never graded, never compared, and never pushed to finish on a schedule. Each person works on a project chosen together with Marsaoui based on their own level and interests, and no one leaves with an unfinished piece. "We never let someone walk out the door with an unfinished work," she said. The school uses professional-grade materials throughout, something Marsaoui considers non-negotiable.

LoulArt's creativity workshops run on Saturdays, Sundays, and Thursday evenings at 73 Chemin Vanier in Aylmer and cost $25 per session, with all materials provided. There is no subscription or attendance requirement. Participants sign up and pay only when they want to come. For more information, visit www.loulart.ca.

Loulart is also hosting a Mother's Day artistic celebration on May 24 at the Chevaliers de Colomb hall. Running from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm, the event will include a meal, a gift for mothers, and the chance for mothers and daughters to paint together, all for $65 per person.

"We just want to share happiness," Marsaoui said. "That's the whole goal."