Buckhead senior turns grief into art, benefiting the Alzheimer’s Association

BUCKHEAD, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - A Buckhead woman is using her passion for art to raise money for a cause that hits close to home.

For Paula Mann, painting has been a new beginning, and a healing thing.

She was her mother’s caregiver for over a decade.

“She was instrumental in my education,” Mann said. “She always took very good care of me.”

Her mom had Alzheimer’s.

“She didn’t know me at all. She had no remembrance of having a child,” Mann said. “It was very stressful. I also had three children at the time that I was bringing up with the help of my husband. It seemed just like I stayed busy all the time.”

When her mom passed away, her husband gifted her an art class. She was in her 60s. It was a new beginning.

“It was something I always wanted to do, and he was very supportive,” she said.

She has been painting ever since. She uses a small closet in her apartment at the Renaissance on Peachtree senior living center in Buckhead to bring her ideas to life, with her little dog, Lucky, at her side.

“Oh, it is fun! I feel totally relaxed. I don’t know how good it is, but I really don’t care,” said Mann, laughing.

She is 85 years old now and the realities of Alzheimer’s have made their mark.

“It is the families that suffer right along with the person,” she said.

She has decided to sell her paintings and use the money to donate to the Alzheimer’s Association. It’s a small way to use her new beginning to help someone else.

The art show and sale will be at the Renaissance on Peachtree, located at 3755 Peachtree Rd., on Friday, March 29, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Representatives with the Alzheimer’s Association will be there with resources.