Always on the lookout for engaging activities to do with my husband Evan, I tried different kinds of art projects. Painting (with brushes and fingers), drawing, creating with clay. To be honest, all of these met with a limited degree of success. He had lost some fine motor skills, and had a very narrow attention span. I recalled the chunky sticks of chalk, buckets of the stuff, that I would pick up each summer for the kids to play with outside, and wondered if Evan might like drawing with chalk as they always did.
I taped big sheets of white paper to the wall. I offered the tub of pastel colored chalks to Evan and he selected one. Standing side by side, I began to draw a tree, and became very focused on the leaves. So focused that I neglected to realise that right beside me, Evan had not yet started to draw. Glancing his way the first thing that struck me was the unnatural blue of his lips and chin. The second thing that struck me was that the stick of chalk in his hand was half the size it was when I gave it to him. He smiled. Those beautiful pale blue teeth a reminder that maybe art really was not his thing.
Still, I certainly encourage you to try making art of all kinds with the person you support! If you need ideas, there are heaps of online resources. I like this video put out by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It’s geared more towards professionals facilitating art programs for people with dementia, but I found it very interesting. Here are just a few of the ways that art-making helps people living with memory loss and cognitive changes, taken from an article by Lesley University:
And if your sweet person needs some encouragement, consider watching a Zinnia video like Making Art, Painting or Let’s Talk About Fine Art.
