Airdrie’s Over 50 Club rocks.
The senior-focused club is trying to uplift community members through a special form of decorative stone art. The group has been painting black stones with spiritual mandalas on them to leave around town in public areas for people to find.
Mandalas are traditional geometric circular images used in Eastern traditions such as Buddhism or Hinduism to aid people in meditation or as a focus for spiritual devotion. Mandalas have become increasingly popular in North American culture as a form of artistic expression.
“It keeps those brain cells moving and working,” explained Phyllis Pitz, who has been teaching Over 50 Club members how to make the mathematically complex drawings on both stones and old LP records. “It is so excellent for your mind. It is calming. It is inspirational, because after you can do (it) the sky's the limit (for personal expression).”
Pitz said the reason Over 50 Club members will be leaving the fruits of their labours around Airdrie for people to randomly find is to help uplift and inspire the community.
“I think we just try to make somebody’s day by finding a pretty rock,” she said. “That was the idea. I think people who find them kind of enjoy it. And there are little inspirational notes on them. So I think people who find them have a bit of an uplift.”
The Over 50 Club holds arts and crafts lessons regularly at their club headquarters, located adjacent to the Airdrie Town and Country Centre at 275 Jensen Road N.E. from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. every Wednesday.
For more information on the classes offered, Airdrie residents over the age of 50 are encouraged to call Jean at 403-980-2677.
