Pasadena Village members came together on October 17 to celebrate the opening of Songs of Life, an exhibition by Dr. Maureen Kellen-Taylor. The event brought a warm and lively crowd to the Community Room, where guests gathered to talk with Maureen about her process and respond to her work. The exhibition will remain on view through November.

Dr. Kellen-Taylor describes herself as “an artist with one foot in abstraction and the other in environmental awareness.” Born in the United Kingdom, her father’s work took the family to Guyana where she spent part of her childhood. The vivid natural world she experienced there—its light, color, and rhythm—left a lasting impression. “Those early landscapes still live in my imagination,” she shared. “They remind me to stay curious about how things grow, decay, and renew.”

Her work draws from those early memories and from her ongoing concern for the environment. Using both natural and found materials—tree branches, surgical gloves, and discarded plastic—Maureen explores the ways we connect to what we use and what we leave behind. Each piece invites viewers to look more closely at the everyday materials around them and to consider how creativity can reshape what might otherwise be forgotten.

Maureen has spent much of her professional life helping others rediscover creativity as a way to heal and connect. She joined EngAGE: The Art of Active Aging in 2002, serving for eight years as Chief Operating Officer and leading its intergenerational arts programs. Earlier, she founded Artworks at Mount Zion in San Francisco, one of the first hospital-based art programs in the country. Her work in community and hospital settings has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts and the California Arts Council, which honored her in 2005 with its Directors Award for Lifetime Commitment to the Arts.

At the reception, Maureen invited guests to join her in the creative process by suggesting titles for several untitled works. The invitation sparked thoughtful conversation. Villager Sharon Jarrett said, “I like her drawings very much.” Mario Sewell added, “This collection is a wonderful look inside the artist’s mind. My wife was an accomplished Mexican-American artist—it’s nice to see art in our new offices.”

Gary Smith, a member of the Pasadena Village artists group, reflected on “the breadth of Maureen’s work,” noting that her art “covers a wide variety of styles, materials, and subjects.” Paula Rao was particularly drawn to the environmental pieces. “What a creative and unique way to make a political statement,” she said, referring to a series made from plastic Maureen collected along roadsides in Texas. These comments captured the spirit of the afternoon—open, appreciative, and full of curiosity. Guests lingered over the work, sharing memories of their own creative paths and finding points of connection in Maureen’s art.

Dr. Kellen-Taylor will also be part of Acts of Art, a feature presentation at Pasadena Village’s annual Vintage Celebration fundraiser on November 5 at The Women’s Club of South Pasadena. The event will highlight the partnerships that Pasadena Village enjoys with community organizations, businesses and community members.

Through Songs of Life, Dr. Kellen-Taylor offers a gentle reminder that art can be both personal and shared—that it can spark conversation, reflection, and renewal. Her message is simple and enduring: “Art connects, heals, and reminds us of our shared responsibility to the world around us.” That idea continues to echo throughout Pasadena Village, where the gatherings, concerts and educational activities reverberate in the daily lives of Villagers.

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