FEBRUARY & MARCH 2007: AHN NEWS
This month’s issue is dedicated to ART and ALZHEIMER’S. I interview healing artist Judith Selby Lang about her moving experience of teaching art to elders with dementia and Alzheimer’s. I also review the book, When Words Have Lost Their Meaning: Alzheimer’s Patients Communicate Through Art by Ruth Abraham, and I feature links to the work of William Utermohlen, the Time Slips Project, and the Memories in the Making Project.
Although neither art nor medicine have a cure for Alzheimer’s, the creative process does offer an improved quality of life and a potent route of self-expression for those suffering from this disease. I hope the projects and information here will provide a source of inspiration.
Wishing you a wonderful winter season,
Mary Daniel Hobson
AHN INTERVIEW: Judith Selby Lang
“Those people who are aging are us. It is me and you. It is not only what my students face, but what we all face. We all must think about how we want to live and how we want to die and what we want to do in-between.
Art for me has been the saving grace. I have been able to find meaning through personal expression. And, I hope that I have been able to help others find their meaning through art.”
–Judith Selby Lang
Judith Selby Lang with one of her artworks
Judith Selby Lang is an extraordinary artist whose work touches upon some of the key issues of our time, from environmental issues in works like Tobacco Quipu to political activism in her 2004 Get Out the Vote! Project. For many years, she has also been active teaching art to those with Alzheimer’s and dementia, offering them a means of creative self-expression when words and memory have begun to fail. Mary Daniel Hobson interviewed Judith in January of 2007 about her work bringing art to Alzheimer’s patients, and the impact it has had on her own creative life.
Mary Daniel Hobson: Judith, how did you start teaching art to people with Alzheimer's?
Judith Selby Lang:Mary Daniel: Tell me about the classes you teach now…. Where are they offered? How did you get started there? What creative processes do you teach? When I graduated from college, I did not envision working with the elderly nor could I ever imagine that it would become my life work. But real academic art teaching jobs were scarce, so when a position teaching “art” at Napa State Hospital was offered, I jumped at the opportunity. I had no teaching experience. I was not trained in gerontology. As you might imagine there were not a lot of folks clamoring for tough jobs like that. We were given some on the job teacher training, but mostly we were on our own to develop lesson plans and art projects. It was rough going, but I cared about my students and learned from them. I learned patience -- the necessity of patience -- when working with people with mental and physical challenges. When the population at NSH changed, I began working in convalescent hospitals with students with Alzheimer’s, cancer, stroke, hearing impairment, dementia, Parkinson's and on and on.
Mary Daniel:Tell me about the classes you teach now…. Where are they offered? How did you get started there? What creative processes do you teach?
Judith: I am an instructor through the community education and seniors program at Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) in Santa Rosa, California. SRJC offers seniors a wide range of classes including exercise/stress reduction, arts and crafts, autobiographical writing, music appreciation, discussion of important current issues, and other topics of interest to older adults. There is much evidence to show the importance of lifelong learning in maintaining physical, cognitive, social, and emotional health. These classes bring much needed light and life into the health care environment.
Silk Painting
I teach hands-on art classes designed to meet the special needs of the participants at senior centers, assisted living facilities and convalescent hospitals. In weekly sessions, students are guided in art projects and exercises that encourage personal expression. The making of gifts during the holidays is always a hit. Seasonal decorations and crafts offer year round thematic possibilities.
Watercolor painting is fun, easy, inexpensive, and readily available. Even a simple pan palette of eight colors will do. Drips and smudges are celebrated. “Errors” can be openings into new and unexpected expressions. I encourage my students to embrace so-called “mistakes” and learn from them. I want my students to get rid of the notion of pristine paper and perfect painting.
I am grateful that I have been able to develop my own way of teaching. The pay is adequate and has met my financial needs. It has given me stability and has allowed me to do my own artwork without commercial consideration. Plus, it has given me an opportunity to share my enthusiasm for the creative life.
A painting by Judith Selby Lang from
How Old Women Die…
Mary Daniel: What are the unique challenges of working with patients with Alzheimer's, and how do you manage those?
Judith: Over the years -- yes, thirty years -- I have developed some strategies and methodologies that really work for me.
First and foremost, I never talk about BIG “A”, fancy "art" ideas. Most folks freeze at the thought of “ART.” All of the standard excuses arise, such as “I can’t draw a straight line.” Instead, I talk about putting color on the page with big brushes to make expressive swirls. Everyone likes color especially when it is bold and bright. Painting on silk gives especially good results. The way that the paint flows into the silk always evokes “ahhhh’s,” and having a beautiful scarf to give or to wear is a bonus.
“Show and share” is my byline. Art is about communication. So the sharing is an integral part of the creative process. Acknowledgment and a positive response from others is a huge motivator. Most facilities have a large bulletin board that serves as a ready-made “gallery,” so student efforts are always on display. Group projects as well as individual works are featured.
Installation of Judith’s series, How Old Women Die…
“Many hands make light work” is a familiar 14th century proverb that is still relevant today. I do many projects where everyone contributes something, even if it is just one stroke of paint on a group mural. Each small gesture adds to the whole. I like making big things, something bigger than any one person could make. I want my students to enjoy the feeling of accomplishment and of identification with something bigger, beyond themselves. For example, in the fall, I brought in a huge bundle of leaves that were turning red and dusky. Their smell evoked childhood memories of raking leaves and the thrill of tumbling into the great piles. Almost everyone was able to trace around a leaf and add washes of watercolor. Proficient students worked in the details, elaborating the veins and the changing textures. On the bulletin board, with crinkled brown paper bags, I made a huge trunk and branches of a tree. The leaves were added to the branches and, as if they had fallen, on to the ground. It made a magnificent display of autumnal color. Each leaf was unique...and everyone could point to the tree and say, “Look what I made!”
Mary Daniel: What a rewarding experience. How has this work impacted your own creative life?
Judith: It continues to be a source of inspiration for my own artwork. Over the years I have created several projects and series of works based on my observations and experiences.
For example, In March 1995, How old women die... was exhibited at the Fairfield Center Gallery, Fairfield, California. To simulate a convalescent hospital setting, the gallery walls were configured in the shape of a long white corridor, a stark narrow passage intended to create a feeling of constriction. Recorded sounds from nursing homes played while viewers moved through the space. How old women die... was displayed in conjunction with a series of community discussions, lectures and performances sponsored by North Bay Healthcare Systems. The events generated much publicity and effectively increased public awareness about the social, medical, and political issues of aging. ... is my expression of outrage at the disregard shown towards the elder members of our community. With photographs and text, this mixed media installation illustrates the last days of a woman who was abandoned by her family at a nursing home. Confined there, slowly and methodically she loses all purpose and identity and finally dies.
Mary Daniel: Do you have any final thoughts you would like to share about making art with Alzheimer’s patients?
Judith: Alzheimer’s is the frightening “buzz” word that has come to represent a variety of maladies including stroke related mental impairments, dementia, and Parkinson’s disease. Dementia is a general term for loss of memory and other mental abilities severe enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, accounting for 50 percent of cases. So it is the word we most commonly use. And, because of the sometimes long mental decline associated with it, it evokes the most fear.
As we all know, the number of people aging is growing exponentially and along with it the number of people who will eventually face Alzheimer's. If you did not see the Frontline program on PBS "Living Old" I recommend it. It is available online. To highlight the enormity of the “aging” problem, they have complied some shocking statistics.
Those people who are aging are us. It is me and you. It is not only what my students face, but what we all face. We all must think about how we want to live and how we want to die and what we want to do in-between.
Art for me has been the saving grace. I have been able to find meaning through personal expression. And, I hope that I have been able to help others find their meaning through art.
To learn more about Judith Selby’s work, you could read an interview with her about art and politics by clicking here. Or you could email her at jselby@marin.cc.ca.us.
FEATURED BOOK:
When Words Have Lost Their Meaning: Alzheimer’s Patients Communicate Through Art
By Ruth Abraham
“When a young and doubting art therapist asks me what contribution art therapy can make with such an impaired population facing certain deterioration, I come back with a story and a question. A man is dying, I say, and you have been requested to spend the last hour of his life with him. It is within your power to make that a rich, intimate and fulfilling hour for him. You do so, the man smiles contentedly, and then he dies. There was no hope of improvement. Nothing has changed for him except for that gift that you gave him. Would you feel that your investment was validated? Was it a worthwhile endeavor?....This gift is what you have to give the Alzheimer’s patient.” –Ruth Abraham
When Words Have Lost Their Meaning offers an invaluable resource by blending information about the disease, practical guidelines on how to bring art to those suffering memory loss, and personal anecdotes about her teaching experiences and also about her own mother’s degeneration and death. This book will be a useful guidebook for art therapists and caregivers working with elder populations, and it is also a great resource for anyone dealing with aging or the aging of loved ones and family members. It is written in a very accessible manner and includes color pictures of her patient’s work. Chapters include “Getting to Know the Alzheimer’s Patient,” “Does Art Therapy Really Help?,” “The Therapeutic Hour: A Practical Guide,” “Portraits: Three Case Studies,” and “A Personal Story.”
This 192-page hardback book was published by Praeger Publishers in 2005. Click here to order.
FEATURED LINK
Art and Alzheimer’s: Featuring Works by William Utermohlen
www.myriad.com/alzheimers/art.php
In a chronological series of self-portraits, William Utermohlen created a visual narrative of the progression of his own dementia. You can view his work on this web site, and download a pdf version of the exhibit catalogue, as well as a pdf of the art and lecture program that accompanied his exhibit.
FEATURED LINK:
TimeSlips
“The TimeSlips Project has generated hundreds of stories that are used to produce plays and art exhibits, and to rekindle the hope for human connection among people struggling with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementia. TimeSlips marks a fundamental shift away from focusing on memory and reminiscence, toward encouraging people with memory loss to exercise their imaginations and creativity. It provides the building blocks for effective, person-centered care. The stories that emerge capture the hopes, dreams, regrets, fears, humor, and desires of people with memory loss, and help others better understand who they are.” Their web site includes information about TimeSlips’ process, stories, training models, and products such as their training manual.
FEATURED LINK
Alzheimer’s Association: Memories in the Making Art Program
www.alzrockymtn.org/programs_memoriesinthemaking.asp
“For Alzheimer's patients, a world grown confusing, overwhelming, and maybe frightening has been comforted a little by a palette of watercolor paints and blank piece of paper. With the encouragement of a volunteer art facilitator, these artists slap, doodle, and glide their brushes on paper forming meaningful works of art. This art program has helped them reach a place beneath their dementia to extract some part of who they are. Participants in this program can feel a real sense of accomplishment and achievement in a world of continual memory loss.” Visit their web site to learn more about this program and sign up for their bi-monthly newsletter.
CONNECTION CENTER
Each month, we publish a highlight from the Arts & Healing Connection Center
This month we feature this post from a publisher in Baltimore, MD who writes:
“After getting trapped in the mental health system of America back in the late 70's it has been a long adventure to find a way out. Always been an artist, musician, writer, but years of struggling at a later age than many, with little success led me to start to use my gifts to help other struggling creative people who have been labeled quote unquote mentally ill.
Eight months ago I started a Maryland based publication, called Altered I/Altared Eye, which features the writing and artwork of people labeled as mentally ill. At this time, with the exception of an art contest we ran, which received national exposure, the publication is limited to Maryland artists and so is the distribution because of our extremely low budget.
But it has been quite exciting, and healing for me to produce this small journal, and I am now working under the auspices of a non-profit, Fusion Partnerships, Inc., to acquire grant money so we can increase size and distribution. Finding the artists/writers is not that hard. Mental illness, quote unquote, tends to isolate people, but it doesn't take away talent.
We would be happy to send you a sample issue. Let me know. Best, Ekaitz
This post generated some nice dialogue on the Connection Center. To read other’s responses, please click here. Or you can find this post, called “The Way Out of Quote Unquote Mental Illness” at the Connection Center in the forum, Share Your Experience
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