A friend who was a fantastic fabric artist doing Protractor dreams or think! It ain't illegal. Yet!
mixed media hand loom work suffered a series of devastating strokes. To aid in her recovery her husband built her a special small loom that she could work with one hand and a little assistance from him. Even though she could only communicate with grunts and false starts, she could make small weavings for her friends and family. I treasure the one she made for me.

From an Art Historical perspective there is an interesting example in American figurative Hartfield Trees
watercolor painting abstract painter William de Kooning . His later works, at a time when he was diagnosed with dementia, showed a great difference in style from his former work. Where previously his forms and mark-making were diffuse and expressive, the works of his latter period show a tendency to clearly outlined shapes. It appears as if they were done by a totally different artist. Art critics of the time were troubled by the challenge to determine whether this was an outcome of his illness or of his artistic development.

They have done studies and have found that of all the activities that help prevent mental deterioration and dementia, partner dancing is the very top rated activity for keeping our minds clear and active. Partner/ballroom/swing dancing beats out crossword puzzles, chess, etc. This is because it engages us on so many different levels:

- Mental: it takes mental agility and concentration to both lead and follow.
- Physical health: we need approximately 10,000 steps a day to be healthy. You can accomplish this dancing within 2-4 hours, depending on the dance.
- Physical touch: human contact!
- Social interaction
- Music rhythm
- Fun, joy and laughter!

My mother became ill with dementia in her mid-seventies. Chasing waves
pastel From an early age she had been interested in drawing and painting, and was from a family of 5 sisters who had enjoyed the 'hey-day' of the London musical and later West-End shows both pre and post WWII. As her illness progressed she gradually lost most of her faculties. Recognition of me and my children was lost long before the following abilities were lost (I have listed these in the order of their loss), the ability to draw and the ability to feed herself. Finally, she lost the ability to sing 'old songs.' Even when she did not understand the spoken word she could on occasion join in and sing the songs that she had heard in her youth.

What a strange and wonderful, and yet even terrible thing the brain is.

I paint with individuals, many with dementia, at four facilities
watercolour in the Toronto area. Many are well into their nineties. Their ability to paint is amazing and they love to paint. Some have never painted before and some painted for most of their lives. Only one person so far has expressed frustration because he was a master painter in China and now his vision of what he did before does not match what he is able to do now. But, he keeps on trying. Sometimes they don't remember that they have done the painting when it is finished. They look at their own signatures and ask me if they have painted the piece and then are surprised and delighted.

I believe, though I have no proof, that most learning is won Local treats
mixed media painting through metaphors. Especially when learning about something of which you have no experience. Of course, the more experiences you have, the more metaphors available to you. If you are trying to explain something difficult, there is nothing like a metaphor related to a more common experience(s).

(RG note) Thanks, Ted. Painting itself is a metaphor. There is the transposing of one form or reality to another. The very act is metaphoric.

I present arts programs to our elders and also design and present intergenerational programs. Recently my programs were chosen to be a part of a film/documentary Do Not Go Gently which just premiered in Washington, D. C. two weeks ago and is being shown on PBS around the country. Obviously it is on creativity and aging. I will be presenting a paper and trainings in Green Bay, Wisconsin to the Alzheimer's Association and caregivers of facilities in Green Bay the second week in June.

It seems that the interaction of the left and right brain and their dependence upon the older brains beneath them constitutes the basis that we have to work with in grappling with the making and reading of images. It seems that the more grounded space-based right brain with its potential for grasping pattern in still images needs to speak to the time-based left brain if we are to awaken the narrative side of the creative process as an event; after all, it takes time to make or read art. It's interesting that you suggest that the left brain, the last one to evolve, is the first one to go. There's much more in my new book: Drawing on all 4 Brains and all 8 Intelligences: Drawing on the Mind .

To quote from your letter: "ingrained skills persist and can be the last to go." My mother could put on a meal that was a feast to the palate and to the eye; a creative lady, she carried it over to the feeding of her family as well as other creative pursuits. At 92, she had dementia to a point where I could tell her favorite joke every 20 minutes, and she'd laugh and enjoy it again and again with genuine relish. But her cooking skills had disappeared since she hadn't used them in years... until one day I set the making of galumpke (stuffed rolled cabbage) on the counter and asked, as a child would: what do I do next? Getting exasperated with me, she finally took over and made them, beautifully, artistically. I was smart enough to take pictures, knowing the siblings would not believe me. She was doing BY ROTE that which was ingrained over the years, and it had to be presented at the same high level she'd set many years before. The satisfaction she gained from that afternoon stayed with her a couple of days; the memory of it did not. Although, the glow of having created something worthy of high praise from loved ones.... that lasted. It had placed her back 'in the land of the living' by giving of herself and creating a thing of beauty once again.

In April I was asked by the Executive Director of the Tampa Bay Business Committee Magnolia III
original painting for the ARTS to be on the panel of the Arts & Aging MetLife Forum . These are being held all around the US. The panel included an editor of a regional paper, several very knowledgeable program chairs from the University of South Florida and two members from out of town invited to bring their extensive understanding of the aging process to the table. This forum was extremely well attended and produced extensive discussions which also included the audience.

And then there was the artist. I brought to the table the "it" about which they all were very informed but had no working knowledge. I could share the experience and the consequences and the drive necessary to keep the discipline going. And being a positive person, I could share the joy in making art and the wonderful friends that come from such a life. But most importantly, I was able to be an example of the energy, drive and satisfaction resulting from the creative process. My theory is no matter what you have left behind in your memory box, if you are able to keep creating, no matter how limited your life may become, you will find a little sunshine which might possibly last until the last ray is gone. It is not the length of time but the quality of our space that separates the aging artist from the rest of the pack.

Your term "clear reality" is somewhat confusing. Do you mean that reality is not real unless it deals with gloomy and not pretty subjects and subject matter? There is both beauty and ugliness in life and it is in the eye of the beholder. Sometimes I think that your ability to comprehend art ends at figurative and more or less "realistic" approaches. Clearly you are a figurative painter and as such probably prefer figurative painting over other forms of painting. We all tend to be biased in this fashion. We all tend to prefer our own preferences.

However, this does not make other forms of painting any less real or less of a reality. The way that you see the world is not the way that I see the world. When you talk about "clear reality," to me you sound like you think there is just one reality. I think there is no one reality. Just as beauty and ugliness also is reality in the eye of the beholder. Feelings are no less real than what you witness with your eyes. To the person experiencing the feelings, they can be more overwhelming than any outer reality ever could be. Colors and forms alone evoke emotions. We do not have to be force-fed through a clearly recognizable object or body to be moved. There are many dimensions to these so called "realities."

(RG note) Thanks, Helena. Those guys were able to see beyond the merely pretty, and get at a kind of truth that many find difficult to find. That's what is meant by "clear reality."

This letter speaks to me this week more than usual. I have just had a horrific week, Above Third Beach
original painting I have a very sick friend in the hospital, I am letting go of a toxic friendship and I lost the book that I made for my last show when I was transferring files to a new external hard drive. Everything seemed to culminate and I was in the middle of a number of issues, none of which I cared to deal with and seemed to have even less resources. As a creative thinker, when this happens I don't look at the big picture, I just dwell on things and get myself down.

The thought of working on projects and paintings that I had on hand was just not something I could comprehend. My studio seemed to be this grey static zone that was on hold. All the while, I was worried and pondering and wondering... A week later, some things have just been let go, my friend is being released from the hospital as his problem seemed to have passed. My computer problem is now so fixable and I have returned to my painting. The feeling of my brush across my canvas loaded with pigment is something that soothes my nerves. Within minutes of painting I have a surge of self-esteem as I refresh my brain and know that being a painter is what defines me. While I am not dealing with dementia, nor do I begin to understand the brain function behind my creativity. But like a light switch turning on, there is light where there was darkness and my life is moving forward... once again.

I think I fear losing my sight more than I fear losing my mind. This is just a personal Laguna Beach Palm
giclee print opinion, however. At least if I lose my mind I won't miss what I have come to believe is that art keeps me alive.

I read a chilling article on the Internet about William Utermohlen and his self-portraits showing his descent into dementia, by Denise Grady, dated October 24, 2006. I can no longer pull it up on the Internet but perhaps those who are interested in seeing an exceptional body of work can find it elsewhere.

RG note) Thanks, Luz. Go here: William Utermohlen's Self-Portraits click on (story) and read Denise Grady's article.

As the Musician in Residence for Shands Arts in Medicine program at the University of
Cathy DeWitt preforming at the Unity Music workshop Florida in Gainesville, I've seen music bring dramatic results to patients who have Alzheimer's, dementia, and other memory disorders. Patients who have not spoken a coherent sentence in weeks (according to the staff) may be able to sing along with entire songs. Patients who sit slumped in their wheelchairs become animated and start moving. And sometimes, singing these songs actually triggers something in the mind that makes it suddenly possible for the patient to remember and speak of a past experience. Oliver Sacks , noted author and expert neurologist, explains: "… a stroke or dementia can cause aphasia, the inability to use or comprehend words. But the ability to sing words is rarely affected, even if an aphasic cannot speak them. Being reminded in this way of words and grammatical constructions they have forgotten…may help them start to regain old neural pathways for accessing language… Music then becomes a crucial first step in a sequence followed by spontaneous improvement and speech therapy." As a musician, it's interesting that visual arts can have the same kind of impact. As evidenced in a unique partnership between the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Artists for Alzheimer's , participants with Alzheimer's and dementia who were brought to the museum responded verbally and appropriately to pieces of art, even if they had been non-verbal for weeks at a time!