Sunday, April 8, 2012

art with Alzheiemr's patients

Every two weeks I lead a watercolor class for Alzheimer's patients.

  
Every class starts with loss, disorientation.

Then, gradually, focus displaces doubt.
 Color appears on the page.
An hour becomes timeless, the minutes
articulated by mystery 
and the eternal surprise of creation.

2 comments:

Summerset said...

Can you tell us more about what you do in the class? and how it helps folks?

Linda Branch Dunn said...

I was hired to teach watercolor painting, but I see myself more as a facilitator and encourager. I lead the residents through the process of creating a picture, from how to hold a pencil or brush, through the simplification of shapes into line, to the application of color. Each week the process feels new to them, but I see people learn over time, even as I watch them descend into their disability. It is a mystery, and always rewarding.