“I longed to be an artist my whole life but faced decades of difficulty engaging with art consistently. The pain of not creating pushed me to start.”

Rita Whipple, Founder ArtWorks Circle

Five smiling adults, two men and three women, posing closely together indoors, with colorful background.

An elderly woman wearing pink glasses and a pink shirt, sitting at a table, looking at her smartphone, with pens and a cup on the table.

An elderly woman with gray hair wearing a white apron appears to be preparing food indoors with a window showing an outdoor scene of trees and a street in the background.

Woman painting a colorful abstract artwork on a canvas at an art event.

Older man with glasses, wearing a cap and floral shirt, working on a stained glass art piece with colorful glass pieces and black leading, mounted on a board. The table has craft supplies, a cup with straw, and a smartphone.

An elderly woman with gray hair smiling, holding a colorful impressionist painting of a city street scene with people walking in the rain, wearing a pink shirt and white apron, standing in front of a window with trees outside.

Two smiling women holding colorful paintings, standing in front of a wooden wall, with one painting featuring abstract geometric shapes and the other a landscape with a cloudy sky.

Woman holding a cartoon portrait of a girl with long blonde hair and a small dog, and showing a photo of the girl with the dog on her phone.

A woman with glasses and curly dark hair is sitting at a table, looking at a book with Christmas-themed images, holding a pen in her hand. The table has various books, a smartphone, a blue box of tissues, a disposable coffee cup, and cups, with anoth

An elderly woman painting on an easel with a paintbrush. She is wearing glasses, a red and black checkered shirt, and a yellow apron. She has short gray hair and earrings.

Our story

Our story begins with an unpursued childhood dream.

Rita remembers getting off the bus on a dirt road by an old plantation. Two giant oaks lined the road, their branches intertwining. The image was striking, and she wanted to capture it. That was the beginning of her desire to be an artist.

Acrylic painting of a thinly wooded area with tall trees and green grass.

Lynne, an elderly woman with glasses, dark, curly hair, and a blue shirt is sitting at a table looking at an open book with colorful pictures and text as she creates a card.

A lifetime later,
ArtWorks Circle was born.

At the first meeting, one artist brought a languishing painting and finished it. Another worked on a costume for the Art Car Gala. Others explored watercolor, crafted stationary, and practiced oboe.

Ruth, a woman wearing a pink shirt and a white apron, smiles as she paints near a large window.

Our vision is to continue providing space to pursue dreams together.

The struggle to engage with art consistently is real. It's easier to come up with excuses than to give ourselves permission. Whether it's a forgotten dream, unrealized calling, or new pursuit, there’s space for you.