Painting again at 104, artist has a fan base in Chesapeake

Celebrating a 104th birthday is a remarkable milestone, but Mildred Shafer has done something even more impressive. The Bickford of Chesapeake Senior Living resident has started painting.

“My aunt just had her 104th birthday celebration,” said Vonnie Whitworth. “But what’s more fascinating is that she started painting again. She sits in the common area painting birds.”

Shafer was a self taught artist that had enjoyed art since childhood. When she was younger, Shafer sold her oil paintings in the Oceanview Art Show in Norfolk and the Boardwalk Art Show in Virginia Beach.

She put the paint brush down years ago, so she could join her husband on monthly Las Vegas trips to gamble. “I quit painting when I got married,” said Shafer. “I wanted to travel with my husband and found the slot machines fascinating.”

When Shafer moved into the Bickford in December 2022, they asked her what she liked to do as part of a new resident interview. Amy Scheidemantel, Bickford happiness coordinator, said Shafer shared her interest in art during the interview. Scheidemantel thought it would be nice to give her a special place for her art.

Two months later, the Bickford set Shafer up with her own studio.

“She started painting before I even set up the studio for her,” Scheidemantel said. “She was finding anywhere that she could put her canvas down to paint.”

Scheidemantel eventually found a nail table for her that she purchased at a second hand shop and set it up like a studio. Her space is stocked with an easel, paint, brushes and canvases.

Shafer does most of her painting in the afternoon. It’s when she feels her best. Since January, she has painted 60 to 70 paintings, mostly birds. The residents request different types of birds and sometimes other subjects like a fox. Most of the artworks are hanging in the residents’ rooms or their families have bought them to take to their homes.

“All of the residents love her paintings and use their ‘Bickford dollars’ to purchase her paintings to decorate their own rooms,” said Scheidemantel. “The cardinal is her favorite painting, and the residents really admire her creativity as well as her background for creating each piece of art.”

Shafer’s small paintings go for a few to 10 “Bickford dollars.” Now, some of the family members have wanted to buy the paintings, so Shafer has started accepting cash.

“Aunt Mildred has always been a big personality in our family,” Whitworth said. “She inspires most people who meet her as she paints, even those visitors.”

Lee Belote, [email protected]

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