Dancing Hands and Creative Souls

All Day Art

admin — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 03:25:02 +0000

Larry is a Vietnam veteran and is confined to his bed. He has made the most of it by illustrating his patriotism in large drawings.
He draws 8 to 12 hours in one day.

“I get lost in my art. Sometimes I don’t even know I’m in bed.” he says.
“When I look at a piece of white paper, I see it done. I have more creative ideas that I can do.”

Friends

admin — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 03:21:48 +0000

Ardis, 90 is doing a “friends” series. Here is one of her pictures. When I saw it, I told her that I thought I saw an elephant.
“It can be anything you want it to be,” she replied with a smile. Ardis paints out of her heart and does not judge what comes out on paper. It is about the fun of expression and the feeling of getting it all down on paper in a colorful picture.

A Bright Mood

admin — Tue, 11 May 2010 02:49:07 +0000

David has many moods. Painting in dark and heavy colors is his forte one day and the next day he paints in bright colors and light rhythmic strokes. His pictures are always well-balanced in color and form. That is because he was a photographer in younger days He recently painted 3 pictures of lines bursting from the center. He wants to have them matted.

Try the Ukelele

admin — Tue, 11 May 2010 02:39:55 +0000

A guitar is wonderful for sound but often gets jostled and bumped in hallways and doorjams. A ukelele is so easy to carry around and play. I learned to play one a few months ago and it has been invaluable! It is most enjoyable to go room to room and sing to whoever is there, if invited in. It is especially fun if family members are hanging out. We reminisce and play songs from the past. A most recent favorite is “You get a line and I’ll get a pole and we’ll go fishin’ in the crawdad hole.” Many times, we put new words to familiar tunes, like “Down by the Riverside”. Much conversation comes between songs.

Black Paint Blobs

admin — Sun, 09 May 2010 21:17:48 +0000

We were hanging out, about 4 of us, in the end-stage Alzheimer’s unit. There was plenty of paper. Richard picked up a round brush, dipped it in water and then in each color until he had every color on the brush. He started dabbing it on the paper. It was a very dark blackish color. When it dried, we were all looking at it. I thought we might be able to turn it into something. I shared several ideas and then asked Richard’s permission to paint on his picture. He nodded and I told a story as the blobs turned into human bodies, that had many of the features of those sitting at the table. Together we decided to make it a rainy picture. Another fellow, Norman, said we didn’t need the center umbrella because they were already protected from the rain with the two outside umbrellas. Interesting observation!

Arnold Remembers

admin — Sun, 09 May 2010 21:04:21 +0000

Arnold shuffles all day long and is unable to communicate because of Alzheimer’s. I asked him if he would be willing to come outside with me because we were starting to see the first signs of spring. He slowly enters into the sunshine, stopping at the door, as his body gets used to the brightness. As I pointed to the leaves sprouting on the bushes, his entire attention went to my guitar which was perched on the outdoor furniture. I followed him and watched him bend down and lightly pluck the strings. I helped him sit down and laid the guitar in his lap. He lightly placed his fingers in chord positions and loved on it, holding tightly to it. It was evident that he had played it before…who knows how long ago. That moment for him was the best medicine.

Horizontal to Vertical

admin — Sun, 09 May 2010 20:46:34 +0000

Smiling, Robert raised his tired body up into a sitting position when I entered his room in skilled nursing care. He is usually in a horizontal position. I dig through my supplies and pull out watercolors and two nice number 8 brushes. Together we clear off the bed table of the wadded up kleenex, magazines, and used glasses and it becomes an art table with two blank pieces of watercolor paper. We sit together for an hour, each of us quietly painting, concentrating, remembering memories, painting memories. I painted a picture of my father holding me as a little girl on his lap and reading to me. Robert painted a face but was unable to communicate with words his thoughts. The face was well communicated and artfully done. Smiling, Robert, with an energized spirit, went back to being horizontal. It is my hope that he rested with satisfaction.

Laurie’s Radio Interview

admin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 04:25:06 +0000

Radio Interview! Listen to Laurie on the Coping with Caregiving radio show (scroll to segment 4) discussing self-expression in the arts and how to improve morale for those in long-term care. The host, Jacqueline Marcell, is an international speaker and author of the bestselling book Elder Rage.

http://www.wsradio.com/internet-talk-radio.cfm/shows/Coping-with-Caregiving/archives/date/selected/04-24-2010.html

She Looks into my Eyes

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 22:30:05 +0000

I’ve heard that eyes are the “window of the soul”. Even when someone cannot communicate verbally, I see hunger for eye contact. Dorothy has Alzheimer’s. I show her many things using my hands, art, music, movement…and yet, she will not look at my hands. She looks straight into my eyes. It is then that I put aside my “doing and showing” and allow her to look into my soul and I into hers. I believe that eye contact is a missing ingredient for communication, no matter what the age.

Stirring the Senses Stirs Memory

admin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 03:12:22 +0000

I was searching for something with texture. I found a woodblock I had carved years ago. It was the image of a fish. As we passed the block around, we felt the textures and talked about fishing expeditions. “What was the biggest fish you ever caught?” We laughed as we animatedly shared stories and waved our hands around. Very soon afterwards, those who wanted to, made rubbings with the side of a crayon. Paint was added later.