A Canvas of Hope: Cornwall Manor Resident Artists Brighten Hospital Spaces

As Americans live longer, healthier lives, the importance of holistic wellness continues to grow. One powerful way to support well-being in older adults is through arts programming, which nurtures creativity while enhancing physical, mental and emotional health.

Now in its fourth season, Artful Connections is a vibrant and dynamic arts initiative at Cornwall Manor. The program offers a wide range of enriching sessions like glass mosaics, storytelling, collage, drawing, drumming circle, pottery, metal embossing, square dancing, singing and drama to independent living residents, with select classes also available to those in personal and skilled care—ensuring everyone has the opportunity to benefit from the joy and healing power of the arts.

Cornwall Manor residents Carolyn Baker, Frank Keegan and Rita van Alkemade all participate in Artful Connections and have found a meaningful way to share their creativity. Their artwork was recently featured in the waiting areas and hallways of the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, offering color, comfort and inspiration to patients and visitors.

This opportunity is part of the Center Stage Arts in Health program, which curates rotating art exhibits in high-traffic hospital areas. The goal is to provide a calming and uplifting environment through high-quality visual art. Exhibits are refreshed every six months to keep the experience vibrant and engaging.

The invitation to participate was extended to residents involved in Cornwall Manor’s Artful Connections program, and all who submitted were selected. To celebrate, a special tour was arranged for the artists and members of the Artful Connections Art Council to view the exhibit on-site.

Carolyn Baker has had a love for art since her childhood. Her parents were Methodist missionaries while growing up. During her first through fifth grade school years, she attended a one-room schoolhouse in Malaysia as one of 10 students within the boarding quarters. Their American teacher was creative and enjoyed painting. She would have her students paint in “en plein aire,” which is French for “open air.” Living in Malaysia provided scenic backgrounds of colorful floral and lush jungles. This is where Carolyn’s love for art began.

She continued to dabble in art through her high school years and attended Albion College, a small liberal arts school in Michigan. She majored in home economics with a minor in art and English. Carolyn met her husband, Stuart, at college and they married in 1962. During their first year of marriage, Stu gave Carolyn an oil set to inspire her oil painting. Their first jobs landed them in Connecticut – Stu took a ministry position and Carolyn taught Family and Consumer Science at a local public school. This gave her the beautiful backdrop to paint many New England scenes. After retirement, they relocated to the Poconos – again giving her many beautiful scenic backdrops to choose from. She enrolled in portrait drawing classes and plein aire painting with an informal painting group, “Come, Paint with Me.” She also taught art, drawing and painting to seniors in the Stroudsburg area through The Older Adult Learning Center Program (TOALC) at East Stroudsburg University.

Carolyn’s art uses many different mediums including pencil sketches, watercolors and oils. She has numerous art journals. At the end of each night while traveling, she often sketches, draws or paints something from her day. This allows her to capture memories and reminisce.

After moving to Cornwall Manor in 2015 with Stu, she has painted several scenic images of Cornwall Manor. She participated in the Lebanon Valley Art Studio Tour in the Paymaster’s Building with fellow Cornwall Manor resident and bird carver Gerry Boltz in 2016 and 2017. She also enjoys sharing her art through her card making program, “Art-to-Heart by Carolyn Baker.” A variety of her card designs are sold in the Manor Shoppe at Cornwall Manor. One of her greatest joys is someone receiving something they truly enjoy.

When she is not participating in on the Advisory Committee or as a hostess for an Artful Connections class, you can find Carolyn and her dog, Lexi, walking the beautiful Buckingham Campus grounds.

Frank Keegan recalls painting a nativity scene on the front window of his home as a young boy. It wasn’t for fame or recognition—it was simply for the joy of sharing something beautiful with his neighbors. That window displaying a nativity scene would be the first canvas in a lifelong journey of color, light and imagination.

Frank is a self-taught artist, and over the past 15 years, he has explored a variety of media and subjects, but it was acrylic landscapes that ultimately captured his heart. “No two landscapes are alike,” Frank often says. “Every sky, every tree is different.” And in his work, that truth comes alive.

For years, Frank transformed the furnace room of his Mount Joy home into a makeshift studio. It was there, surrounded by the hum of pipes and the scent of old wood, that he painted a sweeping Italian winery across the basement wall—an homage to a place he had seen and loved. He never sketches. Instead, he dives straight into the canvas, letting instinct and memory guide his brush. His process is intuitive, almost meditative, as he considers depth, perception and the emotional weight of color.

Frank and his wife, Rosemary moved to their two-bedroom apartment at Cornwall Manor in 2019. The second bedroom provided just enough space for his dedicated art space. With a west-facing window, he found new inspiration in the sunsets that bathed his living room in hues of pink, purple, orange and gold. One of his favorite pieces features a towering fir tree silhouetted against a blazing sky—the tree anchoring the composition, but the sunset stealing the show.

Frank’s work is not about replication, but interpretation. Whether he’s painting a scene from a place he’s visited or reimagining a photograph, he adds his own voice to every piece. His painting of Mary, Mother of the Church—a four-foot-tall tribute to the mosaic in St. Peter’s Square—was completed in 2015. It reflects not only his admiration for sacred art but also his deep respect for the stories behind it, like the protection of Pope John Paul II during the 1981 assassination attempt.

One of his many cherished projects was submitting his Bridge over Troubled Water painting for a Christmas card for Cornwall Manor. This painting portrays a peaceful winter night featuring a snow-covered church, a stone bridge spanning a quiet river and a crescent moon glowing in the sky. It was his own interpretation, a blend of serenity and strength, meant to bring peace to those who received it.

Frank doesn’t paint for accolades. He paints because it brings him joy—and because he hopes it brings joy to others. “The fun is in putting it together,” he says. “I want people to enjoy the color, the emphasis, the feeling.” His work is vibrant and thoughtful and though he may make it up as he goes along, every brushstroke is filled with intention.

When Frank is not painting, he enjoys expressing his creativity in other ways. He sang with the Manor Men and performed a solo of “Finlanda” in the “Cornwall Manor’s Got Talent” variety talent show. He is also an active member of the Residents’ Association Building and Grounds Committee. Frank finds joy in cooking, where he appreciates the creativity and the art of blending flavors. He also enjoys walking the campus grounds, taking the opportunity to explore the scenic trails and connect with nature.

In a world that often rushes past beauty, Frank Keegan invites us to pause, to look and to feel. Through his eyes, the ordinary becomes extraordinary—and every sunset, every tree, every sky tells a story worth hearing.

Rita van Alkemade is an accomplished painter and sculptor whose artistic journey began with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art from the University of Wisconsin–Parkside, where she graduated magna cum laude. She further honed her skills in sculpture at the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida.

Rita spent 15 years at Ringling, serving first as Assistant Director of the Selby Art Gallery and later as Assistant Director of the Continuing Studies Department. Today, she devotes herself full-time to her art in her Cornwall studio.

Her work has earned numerous accolades, including the Outstanding Graduate Award from the University of Wisconsin’s Fine Arts Division, an Award of Excellence for Special Visuals from the Wisconsin Hospital Public Relations Council, and Best of Show at Wisconsin’s Wustum Museum of Fine Arts.

Deeply inspired by the indigenous cultures of Africa, South America and Mexico, Rita has explored a variety of materials—clay, wood, metal and stone. In recent years, she has focused on the sculptural possibilities of papier mâché, a medium she finds especially expressive and unique. Her process begins with a wire armature, which she poses and layers with a paper pulp mixture. After several coats and thorough drying, she seals the piece with polyurethane and adds embellishments such as beadwork and fabric, creating richly textured and visually captivating sculptures.

Rita and her husband Tim moved to Cornwall Manor in November 2021 to their Gatehouse Lane duplex that sits close to the Rail Trail. She utilizes the basement as her studio in their spacious duplex home. Rita is actively involved in the Cornwall Manor Society, where she serves as Vice President and Artful Connections, where she participates on the Advisory Committee. Their Cavapoo, Jasper, keeps them busy at home.

Having a multi-faceted arts program like Artful Connections is a powerful tool for promoting healthy aging, not only by fostering a strong sense of community among residents but also by offering them the rewarding experience of sharing their creativity with a broader audience. Through collaborations like the Center Stage in Arts hospital art exhibits, residents find purpose and joy in expressing themselves while bringing comfort and inspiration to others.