We asked a seasoned weaver to come and show her weavings and show us all the “ins and outs” of weaving on a loom. She left a loom with us. It was kept in the social area and anyone could weave anytime. We wove fabric, yarn, paper, hair, and found objects into the stringed warp and ended up with an unusual piece of art. It was unplanned and “in the moment” as each person added his or her part.
Ina’s painting style has stayed consistent with her personality traits. She is smiling and free. Those with Alzheimer’s appear to be the most free and happy when they are “in the moment”. This is what makes art and painting so effective. Ina did not ponder what she was going to do or what she wanted it to look like. She painted from what proceeded from inside at the moment.
Doris is in the habit of quietly sitting in front of an empty page of watercolor paper for up to an hour before she picks up the brush. I am aware that the creative juices are being stirred. Without fanfare, she starts painting and a landscape emerges in a very short time. Each landscape is a different color hue. “This is a fallen tree at dusk” she said. I held it up in front of her and asked if she was happy with it. She nodded her head and said that the trunk needed to be wider. She fell asleep before she could finish. The picture is still very charming. The painting pictured below is a tree that she painted very quickly all in blue.
Ginny spends her days in a wheelchair with her head down. She is in the end-stages of Alzheimer’s. She cannot focus enough to do very much at all. Last week, I placed a Reverie Harp on her lap. I strummed it once and waited to see what she would do. We sat for several minutes in silence and she moved her hand on the strings and enjoyed the thrill of hearing the music that she was making. We sat together for the next 20 minutes experimenting with the sounds. I could feel the release.
I was sitting with 2 residents in an Alzheimer’s Unit.
“Let’s write a haiku poem. Look out the window at all the snow. What do you think of the snow? How does it make you feel? What does it remind you of?”
I received feedback: Ice cream, cold, have to wear a coat, kinda wet, falling ice, snowball, winter, dead.
“What would you compare it to?”
My sister sleeping.
“Is the snow sleeping?”
Yes
It also has energy
“For what?”
To make the grass grow in the spring.
I began writing their words in the 5 syllables, then 7 syllables, then 5 syllables. Here is our Haiku poem.
Peaceful snow sleeping
Watering seeds for Spring
Waiting for flowers.
We got the paints out and painted flowers coming out of the snow.