She has resilience down to her art.
A strong 101-year-old Brooklyn woman started coloring to cope with her grief after her daughter's death, and despite being blind in one eye, she continues to produce detailed art.
Josephine Nigro defied the odds by surviving an early case of COVID-19 and using rainbow colors of gel pens to fill pages from adult coloring books to help her cope with life's stress and sadness. It's illuminating.
“It takes you away from reality for a little while. It doesn't promise you a cure…but it does promise a distraction, so that's my hobby. I love it,” Brooklyn wrote in March 1923. said Nigro, a Borough Park resident who was born in .
Ten years ago, after her only child, Linda Vitale, died of breast cancer, a friend bought Ms. Nigro (affectionately known as Grandma Joe) her first coloring book, she said.
“When she died, I almost lost my mind,” Nigro said, adding that he needed an outlet for his overwhelming grief.
“A friend sent me a coloring book with markers…but I had no artistic talent or desire for it, but he was very kind enough to send it to me. [said] I’ll give it a try,” she said, adding that she quickly fell in love with the hobby.
Despite having no vision in one eye, this energetic centenarian, with the help of an assistant, uses a magnifying glass to color perfectly within the lines.
“I can't tell the difference between orange and other colors. But if you ask me for purple, I'll give it to you and it will balance out the colors,” she says, adding that she spends an hour each day coloring. he added. “It’s all freestyle.”
When The Post visited her on Friday, the lively Ms. Fogie, who worked as a stenographer in her youth, was joyfully singing along to Rod Stewart songs as she decorated flowers.
In 2021, Nigro fell ill with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), but managed to recover despite his advanced age by using the power of art to lift his spirits.
“I was sick, but it was bearable, I went through the usual things, but not extreme symptoms, and I got better. I could do it. I went through it,” she said. Ta.
Nigro, who loves fashion and big band music, considers herself lucky to still be mentally alert.
“Thankfully my brain is working. I don't really feel old. I don't dwell on it. I don't think about being young…As I get older, I just accept my good fortune. Please,” she said.
When she's feeling down, she says to herself, “Who is that old man?” It can't be me. ”
One of her friends, Karen Lewis, called her a firecracker who had many fascinating stories about her long life.
“She's amazing. She's so brave. I love hearing stories about her life. She never ceases to amaze me,” Lewis said.
Nigro said her grandson, a Virginia prosecutor, now has a piece of her work displayed in his office.
After all, she said, the key to living a long and happy life is helping others and not giving in when times get tough.
“Be kind to each other, help each other, encourage people, make the best of it when things aren't going well, and try to do things you think are impossible,” she said. .
“What I'm saying is, you're going to find stress. Avoid it where you can and overcome it where you can,” she said.
