Interpreting Fine Art vs. "Coloring In"

My good friend
and amazing artist 

 Ann M. Murphy

 produced a small calendar last year 

with images of her work on each page. 

Her paintings are very soothing, quiet landscapes and seascapes

with soft colors and subtle value changes. 

I thought the patients would respond well to them, so    

I gave each of them an image to "copy".
A much bigger challenge than just coloring in the lines
of objects that I've given them before.

This "regular" got right to work
and was delighted!  

They all struggled with this at first, but as usual,
once they got going
the results were amazing!

This woman worked very hard on this.
What a wonderful interpretation! 

Again, another valiant attempt! 

We had a smaller (and much quieter) group today 

so this project was just perfect. 

(Two of the gals were so relaxed they fell asleep!)

If anyone who reads this blog has any ideas for projects,

I'm all ears.

I'll try anything!  

PS. I asked Ann for permission to use her images ahead of time.
Always a good idea. 

New Discovery!

I've been trying to avoid giving the patients coloring pages to just "fill in". 

I wanted the projects to be more creative for them. 

I thought it would stifle any individuality they may have and 

was afraid they would think it was childish.  

Although, a few visits ago, I noticed that they truly enjoy coloring in 

(and staying in the lines!)

 I'd purchased some new 16 color paint sets for them 

so today I copied butterfly images on to watercolor paper 

and gave each of them a butterfly sticker to copy.  

The stickers weren't very useful in the end,
 but it gave them a much needed reference.  

We had a big group today and it was rather chaotic when I first walked in.

Even the normally upbeat patients were negative and confused.

Once they got to work though, there was a complete shift in the atmosphere. 

They were content!  

And I was worried that they would all look the same! 

They were all so pleased with their results!   

This "new girl" refused to participate at first, 

but then got right into this. 

She was beaming on the way out.  

 Another one that preferred to "just watch" 

but once I put the paint on the brush for her ,

she was off and running! 

(That purse doesn't leave her lap. Ever) 

Bottom line: 

I think I'm getting somewhere! 

Back Together

I haven't been able to meet with the patients for over three weeks

 so I was a little nervous about today.
We had a big group and they all seemed happy to be back at it.

 Judith brought individual small vases of flowers from her garden for each of them to paint. 

It was the first time we tried painting something "from life"
(with nothing for them to copy)  

so we were prepared to draw in the big shapes for them to color in.

They are all SO concerned with staying in the lines! 

(They call it "a mess" if they go outside them.) 

Then there are those who prefer to do their own.

Lorraine is the watercolorist who just loves this class.

I asked what the dark mark was on the right.

She told me it was books on the shelf! 

Of course!

I now come prepared for "guy projects" because

they certainly don't want to paint flowers! 

Russ, reluctant at first, got engaged in this for the whole hour.

(Then told his wife and daughter to put it in a frame!)

 I've come to realize how important this is, 

for the patients and me,

 on so many levels.

I know they look forward to it 

 and they seem to lose themselves in what they are doing. 

It's thrilling to watch and encouraging to see the results!  

Fun with Fireworks!

I wanted to change things up a bit for the group today, 

so I gave them each a piece of black art paper 

and 6 colored pieces of chalk. 

Photos of FIREWORKS were offered for them to copy. 

I was thrilled that they all "lit up" and went to work right away!   

(Even the ones who usually don't participate!)

This was the happiest I've ever seen them!  

This woman did this out of her head! 

 

I love this! . 

 Kids? A house?

Not sure what it was about this project, 

but it made a connection of some kind, to every patient!  

The imaginations were running wild. 

And that just makes my day. 

Thank you Judith for all your help!     

Resistance at First

I haven't seen the patients for a while so I knew 

it was going to be tough to get back the momentum today. 

Today, I drew an outline of a head on the paper 

and then talked about "portraits". 

Most of them resisted the idea immediately.

The helpers and I had to "draw" in some shapes for them to color. 

Bill was then happy to paint his blue shirt. 

This gal got a big kick out of painting her "hair" red. 

Then she decided that it was a "he" and was one of the Red Sox.

She had a great time with this.  

Vinny had no interest in doing this, 

but when he left, he told me not to let anyone touch his painting. 

Lorraine chose to paint from one of the photos I brought 

(just in case). 

She has such a sensitive approach to painting. 

(She's the one who used to be a watercolorist)  

My wonderful helper Judy drew this for this patient, 

who then spent the whole hour painting it. 

In fact, she was upset that she 

couldn't finish the green shirt in time! 

I'm learning that with a little encouragement and prodding, 

just putting paint on the paper can be so enjoyable for them. 

I guess that is all I can hope for! 

Happy To Be Back!

I have been traveling a lot this month 

so I haven't seen my Alz Gals in three weeks! 

I arrived around 1:30 pm today (right after lunch) 

so most of them were nodding off in the TV room. 

As soon as they saw me, they just lit up!

 WHAT A TREAT!  

Sticking with simple subject matter (flowers) 

with images for them to look at,   

they were happy and got busy right away.

 The aids, and my wonderful assistant Judith, offered 

to draw outlines for them to color in.

This woman is a stickler for staying in the lines.
And she insists on mixing her own colors. 

 There are a pair of sisters in the group. 

They do everything together. 

The older one showed up today without the other one, 

and wouldn't start painting. 

One of the aids, a wonderful young man from Kenya,  

clued me in that she was waiting for her sister.  

His gentleness and devotion to these two woman was amazing. 

He sat with the two of them the whole time 

and coaxed them to do this beautiful work!  

The Older Sister

The Younger Sister 

This was done by the sisters' girl friend,

(I think she wishes she was a sister) 

This lovely woman told me there was no white paint,

 so she didn't put them in!

Priceless. 

I'm so happy to be back.   

Tropical Theme Day

This is Nursing Home Week and today the theme was tropical/Caribbean,

so I was asked to do a project related to that. 

When I arrived, there was a steel band playing in the Garden Room 

and the staff were all wearing bright colored outfits! 

I met with my group up on their floor, which by comparison, 

was rather quiet.

I showed them lots of images of tropical fish 

and we talked about their varying shapes and how they move.

I've found that most of them need outlines of shapes to get them going. 

Otherwise they get lost and are frustrated. 

This woman made fun of her ability as an "artist" 

and was clearly uncomfortable about doing this. 

She brightened though, when she added the red tail! 

Josephine just got quietly busy.

I told her I imagined she always did her homework 

when she was in high school.

She said, "Of Course I did! And always on time too!" 

I knew I didn't need to draw any shapes for Lorraine,
the former watercolorist.
Her soft and lovely brushstrokes come so naturally to her.
She gets so much enjoyment out of doing this, it just makes my day. 

 I am blessed to have the most wonderful assistant
and fellow volunteer, Judy Schroeter. 

A resident from Independent Living,
she adds so much to this whole experience. 

Her warm and gentle way of helping these woman is amazing. 

I love that I have someone to share my ideas and thoughts with! 

Thank you so much Judy!  

  

We've both come to realize that 

what we do with these folks isn't important.

It's just spending the time with them that matters.