It also may boost mood and engagement while possibly stimulating memory. It's very relaxing, yet your mind has to work, to make choices,” Hufford says.Īlthough studies of art's effects on the brain are limited, research suggests artistic engagement may help ease common behavioral symptoms of dementia, such as anxiety, agitation and depression. Asked if she is a painter, she replies, “I'm becoming one! It's a wonderful thing. “I just dig in,” she says of her approach to dealing with the diagnosis at such an early age. Once the executive director of a large corporate foundation, she is always on the lookout for new ways to stay active mentally and physically. Her husband drives her to the painting classes. East Columbus resident Jeanine Hufford was 56 when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's two years ago. While Alzheimer's relentlessly erases memories, skills and emotions, the acts of making and viewing art can calm the mind, spark creativity and elicit memories. Alzheimer's chapters across the country are using it to improve quality of life for patients and their caregivers, who can attend support groups that meet at the same place and time. Memories in the Making is a therapeutic program that provides those with Alzheimer's and other dementias a way to express themselves through art.
“There is no wrong way of doing it, and we're all in it together.” They really seem to love it,” Petrill says. During the two hours they paint, frustration and anxiety give way to laughter as instructor Dawn Petrill guides participants step-by-step toward creating and signing a work of their own.
Twice a month, about 15 people with early-stage Alzheimer's disease gather to paint at the Dublin Road offices of the Alzheimer's Association Central Ohio chapter. With brushes in hand and blank canvasses in front of them, a new generation of artists is painting a unique picture of dementia.
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