“Meet me at the MOMA” is a specially designed program by the Museum of Modern Art for those with dementia and their caregivers.  The program is offered once a month on Tuesdays, when the museum is closed.  I was allowed to attend as an observer, and what a privilege that was!

I arrived about 30 minutes early and was placed in the “Red” group.  In my group, there were 3 people with dementia and their caregivers.  Our facilitator, Gordon, a warm and engaging gentleman in a wheelchair,  introduced himself as an artist/educator.  We proceeded up to the 4th floor and entered the area of Abstract Expressionism. I really appreciated how Gordon set the stage for our time together.  

As we faced the first Jackson Pollock work, he told us to just “be” with the painting.  He assured us that there was no right or wrong way to interpret it.  He encouraged us to share what we saw, and then started to weave in interesting facts about the life of the artist, the history of the artform and Picasso’s influence.  This captivated the one gentleman.  He kept asking throughout, “did the artist know Picasso?  did he have anyone to help him?  did he have a girlfriend?”  While his wife tried to quiet him down, our facilitator acknowledged his questions and shared information about Picasso’s influence and commented on the gentleman’s insight.  It was a subtle but skillful handling of the situation.

As we moved from painting to painting, the other 2 ladies said nothing, but I could tell by their expressions that they were engaged.  They looked very much at peace.  At one point, one of the ladies just laid her head back against her caregiver, as the caregiver began to discuss what she saw.  Then, it became clear to me.  We were each enjoying the art in our own unique way.  We each brought our own filters, whether it was our age, our personal interests or dementia.  Whatever the filter was, it did not diminish our experience.  Instead, it enhanced it.  Amazing!

One caregiver became very focused on the history of the time period in which the paintings were done.  Another caregiver saw music in many of the works.  I realized that we were all sharing our humanity and love of art.  The dementia did not matter.  Each of us had found respite from the stress and daily challenges of life through this incredible art.

All too soon, our program ended.  We said our good-byes and passes were distributed so folks could return to the MOMA in between the monthly programs.  Reluctantly, I exited to the outside world with the promise (to myself) that I would return whenever I got back to NYC.

If you’d like to see the program in action and hear the thoughts of some of the participants, here is an excellent short video.   Click here and enjoy! Consider sharing this program with your local art museum wherever you may live

Not surprising, the most popular was a post I wrote about how to be effective in changing family dynamics.

1.  How to Deal with a Difficult Sibling in Decision-making for an Aging Parent

Why is it so hard for a family to listen to Mom or Dad, consider the options and then, in a unified way, make the right decision in Mom or Dad’s best interest?  In this post, I share key reasons I believe to be true and then a few possible strategies.   Click here.

2. Amazing Art Therapy for the Elderly

An artist/philosopher brings his love of art and deep belief in its healing power to a nursing home. You will be moved by this video which describes his form of art (mandala) and shows one of his weekly workshops. People who can’t even speak their names become engaged!     Click here.

3.  Transitioning An Aging Parent to Assisted Living – When & How

Although our aging parents may wish to age-in-place in their homes, the day may come when we need to think about a move to Assisted Living.  In this post, I provide key criteria that would indicate consideration of a move to Assisted Living.  As always, I encourage us (adult children and families) to be thinking ahead and to become knowledgable about local options in our community now.  Don’t wait for a crisis to occur when you have to abruptly choose an Assisted Living facility for your parent.     Click here.

4.  Safety and Innovation – Bathroom Design for the Elderly

If you’re a caregiver to an older adult, you know that bathing is a difficult challenge.  In this post, you’ll read about innovative bathroom equipment for older adults.  You don’t have to have a huge budget or grand remodeling scheme to consider some of these items.  Open your mind to some of the new possibilities (in showers, tubs, toilets) supporting safety, independence and quality of life for your aging parents.  Click here.

5. Top Ten List to Help an Elderly Parent Before Crisis

The following are 10 tips that Julie Hall (“The Estate Lady”) shared to help us be proactive and take action now to de-clutter our parents’ home.  Do not wait.  Do this now for the sake of your parent(s), your family and you.  I can tell you by personal experience, you do not want to have to face this during “crisis mode.”     Click here.

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NOTE:  If one of these posts strikes a real chord with you due to a personal experience, please feel free to share with our community of readers by adding a comment.

(If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my blog posts or request my Free E-Course. Thanks for visiting!)

I recall my mother complaining back in the early 1980s.  She told me my grandmother absolutely refused to go back to their local Senior Center, because, as my grandmother put it, “the center made me feel like a child.  They sat us in front of an old-time movie and gave us each a cup of popcorn and a small coke”. Naturally, that was still my perception of Senior Centers.  But, as I heard more and more about how important they are to seniors in a community, I decided to research their benefits.

Guess what?  September is National Senior Center month.   That’s a designation by the National Council on Aging (NCOA), so expect Senior Centers around the country to be highlighting themselves and their services.  I’ll provide a link at the end of this article so you can find one near you or your aging parent.

Senior Centers came into existence back in 1965 and have become one of the most widely utilized services developed by the Older Americans Act. There are about 15,000 such centers, serving 10 million older adults annually.  The average age of a person attending a Senior Center is 75.  One third of all attending are over the age of 80.  Most attendees visit a center 1-3 times a week and spend an average of 3.3 hours per day.  Senior Centers are free and open to all.

Centers can be single service or limited senior centers, providing only meals or meals and recreation, but most are multi-purpose centers or “focal points” that provide two or more of the following:

• Meal and nutrition programs
• Information and assistance
• Health, fitness and wellness programs
• Recreational opportunities
• Transportation services
• Educational and Arts programs
• Volunteer opportunities
• Employment assistance
• Intergenerational programs
• Social and civic engagement opportunities

Two interesting new health education programs being offered at some Senior Centers around the country are:

“Connect the Dots: Diabetes and Your Heart: How Medicare Helps“.  The program helps seniors understand the risk factors for hypertension and diabetes, and also teaches them to use Medicare’s prevention and screening benefits.

“Prescription for Better Health: Pack Your Bag”. This program partners with CVS.  Seniors meet one-on-one with a pharmacist to review prescriptions they are currently taking, how to improve effectiveness and also educates about dangers of drug interactions.

So, as you can see, Senior Centers are not the “popcorn and movie” version my grandmother experienced 30 years ago.  They are now an important resource and focal point for senior services in your community.  Be sure to check the center out nearest to your aging parent.

To find a Senior Center, contact your Area Agency on Aging.  You can find that contact information at http://www.eldercare.gov or call 800-677-1116.

(If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my blog posts or request my Free E-Course. Thanks for visiting!)

So here, for your reading pleasure, are the top 5 most read blogposts in 2010 (in order of popularity, the most popular is first.)

1.  How to Deal with a Difficult Sibling in Decision-making for an Aging Parent

Why is it so hard for a family to listen to Mom or Dad, consider the options and then, in a unified way, make the right decision in Mom or Dad’s best interest?  I’ll share some of the reasons I believe to be true and then a few possible strategies.   Click here.

2. Amazing Art Therapy for the Elderly

An artist/philosopher brings his love of art and deep belief in its healing power to a nursing home. You will be moved by this video which describes his form of art (mandala) and shows one of his weekly workshops. People who can’t even speak their names become engaged!     Click here.

3.  Top Ten List to Help an Elderly Parent Before Crisis

The following are 10 tips Julie Hall (“The Estate Lady”) shared to help us be proactive and take action now to help de-clutter our parents’ home.  Do not wait.  Do this now for the sake of your parent(s), your family and you.  I can tell you by personal experience, you do not want to have to do this in “crisis mode.”     Click here.

4.  Transitioning An Aging Parent to Assisted Living – When & How

Although our aging parents may wish to age-in-place in their homes, the day may come when we need to think about a move to Assisted Living.  In this post, I provide key criteria that would indicate consideration of a move to Assisted Living.  As always, I encourage us (adult children and families) to be thinking ahead and to become knowledgable about local options in our community now.  Don’t wait for a crisis to occur when you have to abruptly choose an Assisted Living facility for your parent.     Click here.

5.  Preventing Polypharmacy Problems in Your Elderly Parent

This week’s blog is based an on excellent article from MDSCentral (and an excerpt from HCPro’s book, The Long-Term Care Nursing Desk Reference.) While the book was written for nurses working in a long-term care setting, this information is valuable to family caregivers, as well.  In the post I answer 3 questions:

• What is polypharmacy?
• Why is it an important concern for you and your aging parent?
• How can a family caregiver prevent negative consequences from occurring

Click here to read the post.

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NOTE:  If one of these posts strikes a real chord with you due to a personal experience, please feel free to share with our community of readers by adding a comment.

(If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my blog posts or request my Free E-Course. Thanks for visiting!)

(A special thanks to Allen Gladwell Carter, Sr., artist extraordinaire and my brother-in-law for permission to reprint the following article.  It appeared in the May 2006 issue of “DelawareToday Magazine” under Active Lifestyles section with full page photograph by Thom Thompson. Thanks to Allen for adding an “update” at the end of the article.
Be sure to check out his paintings at http://www.allengcartersr.com/bio.htm)
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Aging with Easel

Until four years ago, Allen Carter Sr. had never touched brush to canvas.

Now he’s mad for Velasquez, takes 12 hours of painting instruction a week and is working on three different paintings.

Carter, 74, and a handful of fellow artists sometimes share the cost of a model. They meet in the basement studio of Carter’s Wilmington home.

Frances, his wife of 41 years, earned her master’s in psychology in 2000 and has worked as a therapist and substance abuse counselor for the past five years. It was his wife’s return to college that inspired Carter to pursue art.

He retired eight years ago after a career in international marketing, then returned to college, earning a bachelor’s of fine arts in 2001 from West Chester University.

“I had fun with the kids in college,” Carter says. “It was a blast. The age difference disappeared in about two weeks because I was competing with them.”

Carter studies privately with Neilson Carlin, director of the Brandywine Atelier School of Classical Painting in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. “I can’t wait until I get to his class, and I hate to leave,” Carter says.

Carter, who paints in the classic realist tradition, works in his own studio two days a week and spends at least thee hours a week training another artist. He held his first show last year at West Chester’s Mitchell Hall.

“I never expected to get this far, quite frankly,” he says. “I surprised myself. I didn’t think I’d have the talent, energy or the desire. All of the sudden I thought, What the heck? I can do this, too.”

Carter is working on a replica of Diego Velasquez’s “The Water Seller of Seville,” a portrait of the Duke of Wellington and a painting of Frances with their son, Allen Jr., from a photo Carter took 30 years ago.

UPDATE, MARCH 2010

Aging with Easel continues.  Allen had a two man show (with Neilson Carlin) at the Pierre S. du Pont Art Center in Wilmington, DE in February, 2009.  He was a featured artist in the Feb./Mar. 2009 issue of International Art magazine, “A Students Case For The Reproduction of Master Paintings”.

He is currently a  member of the Philadelphia Sketch Club, and the Portrait Society of America.   And, he has participated in shows at The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Newman Galley (Phila.), and the Rehoboth Beach Art League.

Where can you find and purchase Allen’s paintings?

• His website, http://www.allengcartersr.com/
• Currently, some of his works are showing at the Hardcastle Galley in Centreville, DE.
• This spring if you’re in the New Jersey/Philadelphia area, check out his show at the Burlington Art Center in Burlington, N.J.

Thank you, Allen, for sharing your journey in discovering your passion for painting and your wonderful works of art!!!

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About the artist –Allen Gladwell Carter, Sr.

Allen Gladwell Carter, Sr. (1931 -) was  born in Southampton, New York and obtained an engineering degree in 1953.  Following military service he pursued a career in international marketing, during which time he took advantage of his worldwide travels to study the great architecture and major museum collections of the world.  Upon retirement, he obtained a second degree at West Chester University in West  Chester, PA, earning in 2001, a BFA in the studio arts with a minor in art history.  Since that timed he has studied continually at the Rilievo Studio with artist/director Neilson Carlin in Kennett Square, PA.  This has been supplemented with courses at the Delaware College of Art and Design (DCAD), the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and teaching as a visiting artist at West Chester University, instructing in the areas of art history, color and design, and drawing of the human figure.  Mr. Carter is a member of the Portrait Society of America, and the Philadelphia Sketch Club.

Mr. Carter’s last exhibit of the works of his studio was at the Pierre S. du Pont Art Center in Wilmington, DE, 6 – 27 February 2009.

Mr. Carter resides with his wife in Greenville and Rehoboth Beach, DE.

For more information visit www.allengcartersr.com

I immersed myself for 15 minutes in using a new kit called the “Virtual Dementia Tour”.  Ok, so it was just a simulation and only for 15 minutes, but it totally changed my perception of dementia.  In fact, I can’t get the experience out of my mind.  I believe that’s a good thing!

2.  My Top 5 List – Things I Wish I Had Known

If you didn’t have time to listen to my 30 minute radio interview with Viki Kind, do not worry!  I’ve created two Top 5 lists that summarize keypoints from that conversation.  You can quickly peruse my lists and hopefully pick up one or two tips that will help you and your aging parent before crisis hits.

5 things I did (in my mother’s crisis) that helped
5 things I wish I had known and done beforehand

3.  Amazing Art Therapy for the Elderly

An artist/philosopher brings his love of art and deep belief in its healing power to a nursing home. You will be moved by this video which describes his form of art (mandala) and shows one of his weekly workshops. People who can’t even speak their names become engaged!

4. New Software Enabled Elderly Mother to Send First Email

Right before my mother wrapped up her two week vacation with us this summer, an amazing thing happened.  She logged on to a computer for the very first time in her life, sent an email, received photos from me, and set up her calendar.  She will be able to view all these from one screen – one portal when she returns to her retirement community.

5.  Love Letter from Aging Parent to Daughter

This is a beautiful tribute to our aging parents…a reflection on the wonderful gifts we can give our parents as they age.

As I put this list together, I can only wonder, what 5 posts will appear here at the end of 2010?

Arnold Bresky, a preventive gerontologist, uses art therapy in his work with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.

Twelve years ago, Bresky began working with patients on preventing memory loss, developing a program he calls “Brain Tune Up”.  Besides drawing and painting, it includes a mult-disciplinary approach that also uses music. And, his program is covered by Medicare.

He recently introduced his program to 8 residents at the Sunrise Senior Living facility in Woodland Hills, CA.  He got each of them to draw the face of a person by “copying lines and patterns from one sheet of paper to a grid on another sheet”.  The result:  the participants all produced renderings of the face and were excited to discuss what they had done.  And, they exercised their brains.  Bresky says this type of activity connects both sides of the brain.  “We’re getting the brain to grow new cells.  It’s called brain plasticity.  The brain changes physically to the environment”.

Bresky says, “My program improves the memory function to enhance a person’s quality of life”.

He now teaches his program to caregivers, nursing students and through his book, “Brain Tune Up: The Secret for Caregiver Success”.  If you live in the Los Angeles area, some  of Bresky’s artwork is on display this month at City Hall.

(Source: http://www.kansascity.com/news/nation/story/1250801.html