Pencil in one hand, Ross Martinez wrapped the thick fingers of the other around a small ceramic dish and began to draw light lines on its edges.

Twice a week, inside this small room at the Mary Esther Gonzales Senior Center, Martinez serves as an artistic mentor for other seniors. He draws designs on the fired ceramic pieces, then passes them to women and men who fill them in with colorful glazes.

Across the table from Martinez, a group of three sisters labored on the details of a coaster set.

"I'm not really an artist," said Josie Fernandez. "I enjoy painting and I enjoy coming because you can get away from everything else — from work at home, anyway. Everyone here is real nice. It's just like a family."

Fernandez and her two sisters come to the classes for an hour when they can.

"We try," said Mary Rael, who noted that although the sisters all have different last names now, they used to be Martinezes.

"We miss them if they don't show up," said Edith Tichonchik, who sat nearby, working on a platter with an image of a rooster.

The ceramics classes are among a dozen arts and crafts activities offered at the city and county senior centers that include jewelry-making, knitting, quilting, woodcarving and straw appliqué.

On Wednesday, items created by the seniors at the centers and at their homes will be on display and offered for sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center. Representatives of other senior programs will also be on hand to provide information about events and services such as Meals on Wheels and the Senior Olympics.

Although Ross Martinez plans to bring more than a half-dozen large platters to sell, nothing from this trio of sisters is likely to be on the table.

"We give them away," said Nina Maestas. "It's just for us. We do it to have time to talk. I like to socialize with these old ladies."

The opportunity for face-to-face interaction is a big reason why the senior centers make sure arts and crafts are part of programming, said Lugi Gonzales, senior center program manager. Classes are free and include tools and a limited number of supplies, but participants must provide materials such as fabric and ceramic greenware at their own cost.

"It's really, really important to them," Gonzales said. "With the knitting ladies, a lot of them say they already know how to knit, but they like to come just for the social gathering. "

Volunteer sewing teacher Loretta Melero has seen her class grow from just herself and two other women to a full class of up to 10 people each week.

"Our elders do not just go over there and sit around. They get productive," Melero said. "Just because we are old doesn't mean we can't do what we were taught to do."

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.

IF YOU GO

What: Seniors Arts and Crafts Fair

When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday

Where: Santa Fe Community Convention Center, Sweeney Ballroom, 201 W. Marcy St.

For more information about the craft show or senior arts and crafts programs, contact Lugi Gonzales, senior center program manager, 955-4177