This is an example of what we do with the palette, after we paint a picture. It gives the senses a boost. We brush through all the blobs of green yellow, blue and red with a flourish, without thought of what it could be a painting of. It is pure fun to see everything mix together as it is stroked in different directions. There is no intimidation, because we are not looking for a finished product. It is just for fun. Perhaps, just perhaps….it could turn into something.
Creativity in the moment is important when there are times of reminiscing. It is at those times that I pull out a piece of white cardboard (free from a box manufacturing plant) and we draw a picture of the memory together. Yesterday, I was sitting with 3 Alzheimer’s patients singing. This stirred conversation about canning vegetables and fruits. I laid the cardboard across one of their laps while I drew a canning jar. What do you want to put in it?” I asked. “Peaches”, one woman replied. “OK. Would you be willing to draw some peaches?” I handed her a marker and waited. She looked at me questioningly. “I will draw the first one and you can draw some.” I drew more jars and each one participated in filling them. It was not important that they did the entire drawing. Color and lines and conversation about the drawing brought a sense of validation.
I go frequently to a facility that has a good mixture of men and women. I find it interesting that the ones who clamor to paint are men. We decided to call in Men’s Club. They gather and paint…and even allow the women to come and watch. As they paint together, they socially bond as they come alive to the arts. Notice that one gentleman is painting a portrait of the other.
David was a newspaper photographer for most of his life. He is now has dementia and is also stuck using a wheelchair in a nursing home with dementia. We were painting on large pieces of cardboard with large brushes in one of our sessions. He painted a stormy sky with blues and grays. He stated he was finished, but then took a brush, dipped it in yellow paint and stroked in a lightening bolt. The surprise was that the lightning bolt turned green as soon as it went on top of the blue. He didn’t seem to be troubled by it. He turned it into a green cactus in the storm and when it dried, he painted pink flowers on it. He titled it “A Flowering Cactus in the Storm”
