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Lifelong artist wins award for greeting cards | Buckner Calder Woods

Calder Woods resident Betty Nellius, 89, was honored in May at the LeadingAge “Art is Ageless” statewide competition for her ink drawings depicting scenes around the campus.

When Calder Woods staff saw her drawings, they convinced her to turn them into greeting cards and sell them in the gift shop. She won second place in the drawing category.

The lifelong artist grew up in Beaumont and took private art lessons as a girl. She earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Texas in 1946. After graduation, she worked at a local department store as a fashion illustrator. The following year, she married and stayed home to raise her family.

After her husband retired, she earned a teaching certificate and taught art classes at Vidor High School. She now teaches weekly art classes at Calder Woods. Betty’s latest project is called “Steeples of Beaumont.”

The “Art Is Ageless” contest showcases the artistic talents of seniors living in Texas from retirement communities across the state. The annual exhibit took place in conjunction with Older Americans Month and the LeadingAge Texas Annual Meeting at the Renaissance Hotel in Austin.

The LeadingAge contest receives more than 200 entries every year, judged by experts in the field such as university professors, artists, authors, etc. The contest and exhibit demonstrate that whether one continues a lifelong hobby or pursues a new hobby late in life, “Art Is Ageless.”

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