“What good is art if nobody sees it?” said Joyce Grey, a Vicksburg Senior Center member and the gathering spot’s unofficial art instructor.

If you go

The inaugural Vicksburg Senior Center art show will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at the center, located at South and Walnut streets. At least 60 pieces by senior center members will be for sale, and proceeds will benefit the center. Pieces are $10 to $50. Call 601-630-8059.

After having that thought, she and fellow senior center members have come together to present its first-ever art show. The event, set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, will be comprised of works by members. All pieces will be for sale, and proceeds will go to the center for art supplies.

The center “already furnish(es) us with supplies, but we felt like that it’ll be a good idea to give something back,” said Grey, who will have a few pieces of her work for sale.

Spearheaded by Grey, who began painting in the mid-1980s, the idea for an art show was a sentimental one.

After selling one of her paintings to a man who expressed interest in it, Grey said, “I knew how proud it made me feel to sell a picture, and I thought the other ladies would feel that good about their work, too.”

Senior center members have been painting and preparing for the show for the past five months.

“It was about February that I came up with wild idea, and I asked (center director) Jennifer (Harper) if it was OK to do it, and she said yes. I wanted to make sure we were really going to do it — and here we are now,” Grey said.

The show promises at least 60 pieces from 19 artists in oils, acrylics, watercolor and pastels.

Nebletts Frame Outlet has donated frames, and Price’s Glass and Mirror donated cut glass.

Senior center member Ann Fowler has been practicing her watercolor technique in preparation for the show. “I didn’t know when I was doing this (taking a class), we were going to have a show.”

Fowler said she has gotten inspiration from artist Bob Ross, host of the long-running public television show “The Joy of Painting.”

Eunice Lewis said, “Nobody here has had any formal training, but we learned a lot just by coming. We watch a TV program and get tips from them, but everybody shares what they know with each other.”

The senior center offers art classes once a week, and anyone 50 and older can participate.

Equipped with a living area, kitchen and lounge area, the center offers other programs and is located at South and Walnut streets.

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Contact Manivanh Chanprasith at mchan@vicksburgpost.com