I teach painting at a local assisted living center: one afternoon a week at the Skilled Nursing Care Facility and once every other week in the Alzheimer's unit.
The chance to work closely, for an hour, with these people enriches my days.
Some have painted all their lives, others have never held a brush. But almost everyone, once started, falls into the mystery that is observation, response, and paint on paper.
2 comments:
Linda, what you do is a real blessing and a joy for these people. So much better than giving them coloring book-type pictures to color in: that makes me crazy!
What a wonderful sense of satisfaction for you!
xo
R
Speaking from my experiences with kids with autism, the activity of painting and observing is vital. This last summer, I worked with a boy who threw water into the air at the outdoor sprinklers, carefully watching the way the thrown water looped and sparkled. It suddenly occurred to me that he (he is non-verbal and behaviorally challenged) was making art! He was making temporary, sparkling shapes in the air with water! I wished I had a speedy camera to record the shapes....he did this over and over again.
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