Creative Chaos:The Music in Me…..

I would like to say that “I’ve got music…I’ve got rhythm…” But,that is not the case. However, when I was given this assignment, to test drive a musical instrument, video the experience and then write about it, I was ready to dive into the unknown and explore this new world. I have always loved music. All kinds of music.When it comes to music, I do not discriminate. I am an avid listener, but to actually play an instrament….to try to make some beautiful sound out of something that is so complicated, it was very intimidating. intriguing, but intimidating. Playing music has always reminded me of math, and I am not very good at math, but I decided that this would be a really fun opportunity to try something new. I was not wrong. I connected with my friend Brian who is a great musician. I think the thought process went something like this………”who do I know that would have a bunch of instruments and complicated music stuff lying around that I could play with?”……Enter my friend and great musician,Brian. With my sidekick, Dr. Gayani Leonard as my videographer in tow I set off for an hour of fun and enlightenment. First, I had the opportunity to play the drums or a machine that simulated the drums. I am pretty sure that, with the exception of the “triangle”, this might be my weapon of choice if I ever decided to pursue this music thing. I like that you can bang on something and it makes a noise. You can get out your frustrations and create music all at the same time! Perfect! Next we moved on to the Sax. This is Brian’s expertise,me, not so much. Too many rules. Your bottom lip has to press on the reed just right, your fingers have to be in just the right place and then you have to learn how to breathe correctly to even make a small sound. For me it was clumsy and complicated (but it does give me great comedic relief watching the video). My final “test drive” was the guitar. How many hours have I clicked on YouTube and watched the Likes of Eddie VanHalen, Ted Nugent or Jeff Beck flexing their musical muscle. It is hard to tell where the human ends and the instrument begins when these guys play. I, on the other hand, was lucky to strum out one cord! I found it awkward placing my fingers just right on the fret board and it gave me a great appreciation for the speed and agility and talent that these legendary musicians have.  All in all, I did have a great time just playing around and making some noise. I enjoyed being with friends and learning a few things, but at the end of the day, I think I will stick to painting.

Music Therapy,Healing and Relaxation:

Music Therapy,Healing and Relaxation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGCXn-svShw

If you have ever been in the hospital or visited a doctor’s office or been put on hold while you are trying to fix a major problem with your computer, you may have noticed that rather annoying music playing in the background. You know, you sit there listening and can’t for the life of you figure out how they slowed down Metallica that much that it sounds like a cross between lounge music and contemporary soft rock? Disturbing? Yes, but isn’t it amazing that a few notes of a rock tune can be tweaked enough to cause an emotion of disdain and utter vexation? Why is it, or what is it about music that has the ability to stir up so many different emotions and in so many different ways in so many different people and personalities? Music, since the beginning of time has always been a form of communication or language.  It has been used not only as a means of language through rituals and battle cries, but it has also been a great source of comfort and healing.  Take for instance the use of music in 1 Samuel 16:23, NKV; Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him. Even in Biblical times, they knew music had healing properties. Today we are finding Science to back up these ideas that music can in fact heal. In a Coronary Care Unit 80 patients were randomly assigned to a relaxation, music therapy, or control group. “The patients that received the MT (music therapy) revealed that lowering apical heart rates and raising peripheral temperatures were more successful in the relaxation and music therapy groups than in the control group.” (Guzzetta, 1989). There are medical journals filled with clinical information about how music is used in the neurological sciences to speed up recovery and induce healing. (Baker & Roth, 2004). In the medical journal Active Music Therapy in Parkinson’s Disease: An Integrative Method for Motor and Emotional Rehabilitation, the findings are very clear, “MT is effective on motor, affective, and behavioral functions. We propose active MT as a new method for inclusion in PD rehabilitation programs.”( Pacchetti, Mancini, Aglieri, Cira, Martignoni, Nappi, 1999).  Music is in fact a great tool for healing and relaxation, and in the words of Olivea Dewhurst-Maddock, Sound Therapy ” Healing relies on an openness to the whole; a willingness to relinquish whatever frustrates or delays — mistaken ideas, negative feelings, poor diet, inadvisable lifestyle — and to accept a wider spectrum of responses with new ideas, experience, and priorities. Healing is communication; and music, in its universal nature, is total communication. In the deepest mysteries of music are the inspirations, the pathways, and the healing which lead to one-ness and unity.” 

References:

Baker, Falicity, and Edward A. Roth. “Neuroplasticity and Functional Recovery: Training Models and Compensatory Strategies in Music Therapy Neuroplasticity and Functional Recovery: Training Models and Compensatory Strategies in Music Therapy.” Nordic Journal of Music Therapy 13.1 (2004): 20-32. Print.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08098130409478095#.UkNUY9Ksim4

Guzetta, CE. “Effects of relaxation and music therapy on patients in a coronary care unit with presumptive acute myocardial infarction..” Heart & lung : the journal of critical care 18 (1989): 6. Print.http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/2684920/reload=0;jsessionid=POGwDEZE9U9qgpTIVqR8.14

Pacchetti, Claudio , Francesca Mancini, Roberto Aglieri, Cira Fundarò, Emilia Martignoni, and Giuseppe Nappi. “Active Music Therapy in Parkinson’s Disease: An Integrative Method for Motor and Emotional Rehabilitation.” Guzetta, CE. “Effects of relaxation and music therapy on patients in a coronary care unit with presumptive acute myocardial infarction..” Heart & lung : the journal of critical care 18 (1989): 6. Print. 62 (2000): 3. Print.http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/content/62/3/386.short

Collage Self Portrait/Creative Practice

This started off as a self portrait collage….It still is, but with a little bit of a “vision board” thrown in. I began the exercise with wanting to go with a theme of fall colors, it’s my favorite season and brings with it most of my favorite colors, but as I printed off photos and cut out magazine clippings it turned into a trip down memory lane with a small glimpse into my future…
I enjoyed the exercise but I was a bit tired after I was done. This would lead me to believe that while it may be a good creative practice for someone confined to a bed, it may have to be done over a few days or in stages. I have done a creative practice like this with my adult day care clients at Neighborly and it was well received. I did break it down into a few days when I was working with them.

first stage

second stage

finished product

Take a Line for a Walk

Start of filing in the shapes

finished product

 

 

 

 

Line Walk

Wow! Pressure! As an artist, when I first got this assignment I felt pressure to create the best painting or drawing ever! But as I put my Sharpie to paper, I could smell my spice pumpkin candle burning and started to concentrate on Fall.(my favorite time of year) It was fun doing this exercise because my 16 year old son Oliver was my camera man and it is always fun having him around. This practice reminded me of a certification that I received through the National Center for Creative Aging. We did this exercise in one of our break out groups. It was fun then and it was fun now.

Stroke and the Art of Dance

Stroke and the Art of Dance

Abstract

Objective: To inform others how movement/dance can impact a stroke victims life as well as the life of the caregiver post stroke.

Method: By examining video, articles, blogs and websites all documenting the effects of dance on post stroke patients and their caregivers.

Results: Movement/dance helps heal through mind, body and spirit connection. From the music that is played in class, to the range of small movements into big sweeping movements to the breathing and balance exercises in between. All of these aspects have positive effects on the healing process of stroke patients and caregivers alike.

Conclusion: It is very important for information about how dance can improve balance, movement and mental awareness as well as help to ease depression in post stroke patients and their caregivers to be distributed in health clinics, hospitals and nursing homes. This information can help tremendously in the healing process and should most certainly be an integral part of continuing care after a person has suffered from a stroke.

As I walked the gallery last night I was intrigued by the Work of Mr. George King. George was the founder of the Indian Rocks Beach Art Center. A quant little art center with a big heart and fabulous artists.  What intrigued me most were not Mr. King’s water colors of beach scenes and water and beautiful boats, but the works in the back of the gallery that had been done after Mr. King had suffered his stroke. Forced to use his left hand for painting, he was determined to keep creating even if it meant by-passing the use of his lifelong instrument, his right hand. I began to wonder what other forms of artistic expression could aid one in the creative process and as I began to research this, dance and movement became the recurring theme. In the paper Dance/Movement Therapy with Older Adults Who Have Sustained neurological Insults: A Demonstration Project (Berrol, Ooi and Katz 1997 American Journal of Dance Therapy) It states: …”movement programs range from dance to physiotherapy to various exercise regimes…research tends to support the benefits of dance, movement exercise programs…”At Texas Health Dallas a class in Dance and Movement is offered for people who have suffered strokes as well as Parkinson’s patients. According to Dr. Aanchal Taneja of Texas Health Dallas, “It improves their flexibility, their range of motion, so it does help them with everyday tasks,” One patient, Peggy Martin was quoted as saying, ““I’ve gotten to lower one of my medicines by my neurologist because of this dance class. She definitely said it was effective in helping my tremor and my balance,” (TINA FOSTER WFAA Posted on May 9, 2013 at 6:10 PM) as we can see from just these two sources, dance and movement are the perfect prescription for ongoing care after a stroke. At the University of Florida, Dance Therapist in Residence for Shand’s AIM program Emily Poezk shares in her blog the importance of clinical trials in this field as well as links to the Micheal J Fox foundation and how clinical trials might one day cure diseases like Parkinson’s. (Poezk 2013http://moderndanceformodernmedicine.blogspot.com). It is proven that through dance and movement therapy, small and large strides can be made in improving the lives of Stroke patients as well as their caregivers and lead to better movement, less instability and a greater control of their lives.

George King work before stroke

George King
post stroke work

References:

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FA%3A102231961?LI=true

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22143597

http://www.wfaa.com/news/health/texas-health-dallas-therapy-stroke-parkinsons-206823111.html

http://moderndanceformodernmedicine.blogspot.com

Art and Migraines, It’s All In Your Head

We have all had them, we get that slight pounding over one eye or we start to feel a twinge of pain smack dab in the middle of our forehead.We can feel the headache coming on and run for the ibuprofen. In today’s stress-filled society, headaches are a very normal part of life but according to www.womenshealth.gov migraine pain and symptoms effect 29.5 million Americans and only %1 of the population have NEVER had any kind of headache at all. Migraines can be very debilitating. Sufferers quite often turn to medication,alternative therapies and even Emergency Room visits. But there is an alternative therapy that is working for some. Art Therapy. In July of 2003 the National Headache Foundation put out a press release about their Fourth Migraine Masterpieces National Art Contest and Exhibition to raise awareness about this disease. More than 400 entries were received depicting that year’s theme, “My Life with Migraine.” In this press release a migraine sufferer Marion Pruitt talks about how painting helps her to manage her pain and work through her migraine. Pruitt states in the release,“You don’t have to be a professional artist to express the pain and suffering that is induced by migraine headaches,” “Using art therapy is a great relaxer for me and temporarily puts my migraines on the back-burner.” Other agencies have also witnessed the value of painting for migraine pain control.Throughout the 80’s according to blogger Eric Reber The British Migraine Association ran Migraine Art Competitions. Eric has referenced a book by Klause Podoll and Derek Robinson entitled Migraine Art: The Migraine Experience From Within that covers art work done by migraine sufferers.There were some 300 artists that entered these competitions all in the name of sharing their pain on canvas in exchange for a little relief. There is no doubt that those who suffer from this painful disease need to find relief, but maybe for some it does not come in the form of a pill, but in the form of a canvas and a few tubes of paint.

http://www.headaches.org/press/NHF_Press_Kits/Press_Kits_-_Art_Therapy_Release

http://library.scad.edu/record=b1272838~S0

http://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/migraine.cfm#b

below is a link to a great Migraine Art Video

http://headacheandmigrainenews.com/migraine-art-video-take-2/comment-page-1/#comment-360312

Painting With Macular Degeneration

Do you have to be able to see to create a painting? According to AMD Awareness Website ,AMD affects millions of Americans: It’s a leading cause of blindness in adults aged 60 and older. It occurs when the macula—part of the retina that lets you see the color and fine detail—becomes damaged. I am currently working with a student who has Macular Degeneration. She can not see anything straight in front of her, but is able to see using her peripheral vision. She uses a magnifying glass to help her see shapes and colors. I have told her that she has a “gift” of sorts. I often tell my students to paint using more of their peripheral vision than their whole eye. In a way, she has a bit of an “edge” over other artists as she has become a pro at using her peripheral vision. Recently I have asked her to start a painting only using the vision that she has naturally, with no help from a magnifying glass. If she can only see a black shape, then paint that black shape on the canvas. If she can only see colorful shapes around that black shape, then paint them. I am very excited to see how this next painting turns out for her and she is very excited to have been given the permission to paint freely. It is proof that you can you overcome visual and mental blocks through art. It is great  to be working with such a motivated artists, but there are many more out their just like my student who are creating amazing art with Macular Degeneration. Take for instance Hal Lasko. In a 2012 news interview on ABC news, Hal talks about how he was loosing his vision, the effect it had on him and how painting with a computer has helped his quality of life. Hal was able to create at the ripe old age of 97 through technology and determination.  Hal and my student were determined and creative, but some are not as lucky. In a blog on VisionAware On December 15, 2012, The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund, which provides direct assistance to children, families, and older adults in New York, featured a profile of 78-year-old graphic artist Margie Jones, entitled A Disease Threatens a Woman’s Eyesight and Art. Ms. Jones, who has had Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a hereditary collagen disorder, since 1976, learned that she had macular degeneration in October 2012. Below is a link to a blog about Macular Degeneration and Margie’s story. Margie was worried about not being able to create art for herself. The original article was in the New Your Times. I hope that Margie has found a way to continue her art even after this difficult diagnosis. It is my thought that if people like Margie would have been given the option of an Arts in Medicine program through her physician’s office, it might have given her some hope about her future in art and her health.

http://www.amdawareness.org/asrs/what-is-amd

(I did leave a comment on the blog below)

http://www.visionaware.org/blog.aspx?BlogID=9&BlogEntryID=593#comments

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/legally-blind-man-97-makes-digital-masterpieces-microsoft/story?id=19783039