Sherri Rosen interviews the author:

SHERRI: What brought you to write this how-to book?

MARY: I attended an informal exhibit of art work by persons with Alzheimer’s and dementia curated by a fellow teaching artist and arts council roster member in Tulsa. I was in awe of the individuality and creativity of the paintings on the walls. I asked him if I could also be a facilitator of these sessions. I soon expanded the program to include music, movement, poetry and storytelling.  

SHERRI: Can you explain what you mean by arts engagement?

MARY: Arts engagement is the participation in an arts experience (visual, literary, performing arts, artisan crafts, etc.) that allow for creative expression and often interaction that fosters stimulation, self-expression, relaxation and socialization. With those with Alzheimer’s I’ve created methods that allow one’s innate ability for self-expression to find its way to the present based on the common ground we all share for expression, with a focus on process and without judgement.

SHERRI: What are the eight ways you have devised to connect and communicate with a person with Alzheimer’s or dementia through the arts?

MARY: Each are listed as a chapter as summarized here:

Painting and Drawing

Music and Music

Poetry and Storytelling

Working with photos, art books and visiting museums

Engaging in art making with family members, friends, including children

Engaging with support and medical staff in the art experience

Displaying and sharing art with family, friends, staff, and the public

Self-care for care partners engaging in creative writing as respite/relaxation

SHERRI: Can a care partner who has no background in art be able to implement your methods of arts engagement with the person they care for? Absolutely. Anyone can use these step-by-step methods to create connection and communication with those whom they care for.  Guidance and encouragement is provided in this book with tips to avoid   judging oneself or those you care for.  The key to be in the moment – where art lives – and focus on process without expectations is illustrated in the guide.

SHERRI: How can families, their children and even care home activity/lifestyle directors participate in the eight ways you describe in the presence of those with this disease?

MARY: By reading this book with an open mind and heart when going through the steps towards a creative experience, by seeing art as a joyful common ground without expectations, and, aschildren do, by embrace the spontaneity and openness to art as you meet that person you love and care for in the place where they are.

SHERRI: Tell me more about your chapter specifically for care partners to help cope with the challenges that caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia brings.  

MARY: A care partner’s job is never done.  Whether a personal or professional care partner, with all his/her every day, practical duties at hand, it may seem impossible to find time to take a break and care for yourself. Creative writing is one of the most accessible art forms than can be done without disturbing others, in five minute segments, as a private and safe space for feelings and frustrations and all you need is a pen or pencil, and a pad or a tablet – all portable – to take you to a place of self-expression, revelation along with relaxation that comes with putting words down. Chapter 8 gives you creative ways to care for yourself. It’s a cliché based on truth: if you don’t care for yourself, you can’t care for anyone else.

SHERRI: Do you have photos in your book illustrating your work with persons with Alzheimer’s?

MARY: Yes, over forty color images of persons with Alzheimer’s/dementia painting, singing, making music, etc. of my engagement with various people, individually or as a group, and separate images of artwork they created.

SHERRI: Why have you listed a Do’s and Don’ts section at the end of each chapter?

MARY: I felt this accessible and informative step-by-step guide needed a short list of what works and doesn’t work in the particular circumstances of this disease to gently guide the care partner on a path to confidence and accomplishment for arts engagement with a person at almost any stage of cognitive impairment of those they care for. The Do’s and Don’ts offer tips for the smallest details to create a safe and comfortable environment.

SHERRI: How is your play, Planet A, related to your book?

MARY: The play was actually written and performed before the book in the mid-2000’s as a theatrical piece that offers a glimpse into the inner lives of those with Alzheimer’s and dementia, including the good, bad and ugly of it all. Through my first-hand observation, and through imagination, this monologue-based social dramabears witness to the voices of those who reside or visit Planet Alzheimer’s, and the fears, frustrations, myths and revelations that surround this terrain.

SHERRI: What have you learned from working with persons with this disease?

MARY: That all we have is the present, that there is a creative spirit in all of us, that even a person who doesn’t know their own name can sing, dance, paint, and tell a story and that caregivers can find connection if they follow the lead of those they love.  In the words of my mentor, Mel Lee,” “Don’t miss out on the beauty of a spirit not gone.”