Jackson Free Press

When Chicago native Jillian Romano graduated from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn., in 2008, she decided to get down to brass tacks. She was 36 at the time, living in Franklin, Ky., near the Tennessee state line, and already married to husband Luca since 2004. While plenty of her younger classmates were considering what to do with their lives, Romano had a bachelor's of fine arts degree and a plan.

"Going to school later in life, you go pretty much for what you enjoy," she says. "Instead of thinking that you're going to grow up to be a doctor or whatever, you go to school for what you love. I had that opportunity, and I've always been a good teacher, so it just kind of brought me in that direction."

Immediately after graduation, Romano started teaching art classes for Austin Peay's Continued Education program and working at Swirlz Art Studio.

When Luca took a job as a plant manager for the Airgas Corp. in Mississippi in 2012, the family moved to Jackson.

It wasn't long before Romano found another use for her degree, though.

Only a few months after moving to Mississippi, Romano started Artful Hours, a home-based business that offers travelling art lessons for a variety of occasions from casual birthday get-togethers to upscale fundraising events.

"I do private parties, and I bring all the easels and the paint and all the fun in a box," Romano says. "I go to whoever wants to have a good time." She also makes regular monthly stops at six retirement communities around the area, including The Blake at Township and Emeritus at Ridgeland Pointe.

"It's something that I truly enjoy," she says. "The residents can't really go out and do the things they like to do, so it's really a pleasure for me to able to bring that to them. It's a great experience every month ... just building relationships with people who already have so much knowledge in life, and being able to spend time with them."

While painting helps improve the residents' motor functions, even those with signs of Parkinson's disease, the activity is also therapeutic on an emotional and mental level. It provides an easy way for the seniors to relax, express themselves, and in many cases, try something new. "I get a lot of people that are 80 or 90 years old that have never picked up a paintbrush in their lives," Romano says. "Now, a year into it, they feel like they've rediscovered themselves and their creativity for the first time in their lives. That's very exciting."

Outside her work with Artful Hours, Romano, 42, has a full schedule at home with her two daughters, Sofia, 6, and Lilly, 4. In what little spare time she has, she enjoys practicing yoga. "Wife, mother, yoga and art—yeah, that pretty much sums it up," Romano says.

For more information, find Artful Hours on Facebook.