Becuase Who is Perfect?

This week floating around on my social networking  I noticed this link shared a couple of times.  Each time I saw it I was to busy or not able to click on the link.  Finally yesterday I did click on the link and its was amazing.  A great example of arts in medicine in a unique way, using art to explore and education, and also help empower and heal others. 

The idea behind the art work itself is genius, the store mannequins are such a looked over piece.  The idea of a "normal" body seen in a mannequin as we all know is so FAR from normal.  I notice often in store how they have the clothes pinned to fit the mannequins because the mannequins are to small for even the extra small clothes. Just this week I was in the mall and one of the store fronts was changing out the display and I watched as a little boy pointed out the breast of the mannequin and giggled. This made me ponder as I walked through the mall, these mannequins are created to display and show the clothing or accessories that we want to purchase, but they are being put on a un realistic body.

I am not sure what made me think about this as I walked through the mall.  Was it that I had scrolled past this article on my phone earlier, or the boy giggling at the breast but I pondered on the idea.  I didn't actually click on the article until days later.  When I watched the video I was so moved by the braveness of the models and the artist.   This is a great example of art in medicine and sharing it with the world. The models showed healing seeing their bodies recreated.  The people observing the store fronts also seem to experience healing.  Its OK to stare at store mannequins and to appreciate peoples differences. 

My creative practice this week came to be before I even knew I was doing it.  I've spent time reflecting on what I see in front of me daily and what I don't and what I miss.  Do I walk past people or store mannequins and not accept their beauty and uniqueness?  I spent time writing about the question "Because Who is Perfect?" and a self exploration of myself and surroundings.

Please enjoy this article and video I promise it is worth the few short minutes.

http://jezebel.com/people-with-disabilities-react-to-mannequins-created-in-1475812519

What's Your Question?

This week for my creative practice I used Ben Breedlove as my inspiration.

Ben Breedlove 18 made a YouTube video on December 18, 2011 in two parts titled: "This is my story" where he opens up about his heart condition and the impact it has had on his young life.  He shares three near death experiences he had.  Each of his near death experiences he describes seeing a white light, at the end he ask: do you believe in angels or God?  He responds as "I Do"

After seeing this video I decided to make my own version.  I decided to ask a question, much like Ben did.

I think this creative exercise could be used bed side in the hospital.  I can see using this to send someone a good wish, to raise awareness and a place for a patient to speak even if they think they can't.  The simplicity of the video that Ben made speaks so loudly, even without words.


Here is my video:

Week 2/3 Creative Practice

My week 2 creative practice went into week 3 as well.  I began looking at this painting:

Painting Title: Autumn Landscape 1885
Oil on Canvas, 64x89cm - 25x35 inches (approx)
Vincent van Gogh 

About the Autumn Landscape Painting
The Autumn Landscape is one of Vincent van Gogh's earlier works, where he was painting in more of an impressionist manner, with more details and less color than his later works. Van Gogh was pleased with the results of this particular painting which he talks about in a letter to Theo below.

Van Gogh wrote about the Autumn Landscape painting in a letter to his brother Theo van Gogh in 1885, saying 

"I think that I am making progress with my work. Last night something happened to me which I will tell you as minutely as I can. You know those three pollard oaks at the bottom of the garden at home; I have plodded on them for the fourth time. I had been at them for three days with a canvas the size of, lets say, the cottage, and the country church-yard which you have.
The difficulty was the tufts of havana leaves, to model them and give them form, color, tone. Then in the evening I took it to that acquaintance of mine in Eindhoven, who has a rather stylish drawing room, where we put it on the wall (gray paper, furniture black with gold). Well, never before was I so convinced that I shall make things that do well, that I shall succeed in calculating my colors, so that I have it in my power to make the right effect."

This quote really struck me both as a personal artist and as a arts facilitator.  At what moment do we have the "ahaa" moment and realize what we are marking is good and valuable, where is our stylish drawing room.  In what way can I facilitate and create a "drawing room" for the people I work with.

The painting is so stunning, the more you look at it the more you discover.  As my creative practice I challenged myself to draw trees, when I first started it took forever and I wasn't getting any progress because I was so concerned with "the tree" first off I am not a talented drawer so why I thought I would be able to draw a tree was bizarre to me.  I decided to close my eyes and draw that way, I got lost in the paper, when I opened my eyes there was no tree.  But there was such a clear tree in my mimd like I could touch it.

I journaled about this, how once I let my mind let go I could create the tree.  I revisited my free writing a few days later, which I don't normally do.  Often when I free write I don't return to it, but this one I did.  I went through and highlighted some words and phrases that stuck out to me.  After reflecting on this and the quote and painting I did some improv and pieced together this, it is a combination of both improv and choreography.

REFERENCE:
http://www.artquotes.net/masters/vangogh/vangogh_landscape.htm

Personal Creative Practice Wk. 1

As apart of my second class for my masters certificate I am asked to create my own personal creative practice and document it.  I have decided for this seven week journey to explore my connection with art work and movement.  Each week I will select a piece of artwork. With this artwork I will free write about the artwork, sketch/draw the artwork and create a movement phrase in my personal response with the art work.  Each week I will challenge myself to expand and change my approach for all of these.


Week 1

I had the TV on in the background one afternoon when Katie Couric show came on not paying much attention I heard the words arts and healing and I turned my attention to the show.  On the show was Mariam Paré a women was paralyzed by a gun wound, before her injury she was an artist and after her injury she continued her art by paining with her mouth.  Here is a link to the segment of the show I saw

(Please scroll down to "See a woman paint with her mouth")http://katiecouric.com/2013/10/17/molly/  


This story was such an inspiration I decided, I should try it as well.  The task was very difficult see below my painting:



The challenge was so interesting to me, I free wrote about the lose of something but finding other ways to not lose it.  I got lost in thought about control, my mouth with the paint brush was so hard to control.
After my free writing I engaged in a dance improvisation where I explored ideas like I had wrote about, only moving my arms, or my legs, or nothing.  I would continue the task until I was frustrated but once I hit frustration I found that I was moving in such a unique way, ways that I have never though of.


I challenge you to explore an art form you know and love in a way that you don't know.  What if you couldn't sing anymore or sculpt, could you find ways to still do it?


Please see Mariam Pare website for inspiration and to see her artwork.
http://www.mariampare.com
x

Take 4 Words

This week we were asked to create our own personal creative practice.

Mine is called "Take 4 Words"

1. Pick one topic, anything at all such as vacations, pets, walking

2. Free write for 3 minutes about this topic, don't stop to correct or change just write write write, even if you go off topic that is ok.

3. Now pick 4 numbers between 1-100

4. Count your words and circle those 4 numbers

5.  These are your 4 words, you can make them into a phrase or change them around or do whatever you wish with these 4 words.

6.  Create a movement phrase from these 4 words or create a painting, drawing, music anything you wish.

When I did this exercise I wrote about the color purple,  my numbers were 16, 22, 31, 47 and my words were:

Grey
Lost
Upon
Sharpie

With these 4 words I created this movement phrase:

Wk. 7 Health Blog Post

This week on my exploration of blogs and articles I came across this one, which I am blown away with.  This is a short story of women who are sharing a awful time in their life, each going through chemotherapy for cancer.  But some how they have all connected in this hospital and share this fabulous coat.  They have built a friendship and bond over this coat.  This is a perfect example of what this 7 week journey of this class has taken me on.  An example of people using art, imagery and human nature to help heal.

Please take a moment to listen to this fabulous story, and share this happiness they have found.


http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2013/10/01/sisterhood-traveling-coat

Here is a screenshot of the comment I left

REFERENCE:

http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2013/10/01/sisterhood-traveling-coat

Margolin, I., Pierce, J., & Wiley, A. (2011). Wellness Through a Creative Lens: Mediation and Visualization. Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought, 30(3), 234-252.

The Chair

This week our creative practice was The Chair, the instructions were to select a chair, observe the chair, take 4 minutes to write copious notes about the chair.  Then take 5 minutes to write from the perspective of the chair without stopping, editing, erasing or marking out.  Read your work outloud, ask yourself what does the chair "most need to say?"  Circle 5-6 sentences that ring true. After this memorize the chair monologue, add posture or movement.  Share your movement monologue.

Here is my chair monologue:

I used my desk chair, I spend alot of time in this chair, I did the exercise while sitting in the chair and on the floor.  The first four minutes were harder to me, it was harder for me to get into the flow of free writing and to write about the chair.  When I wrote from the chairs perspective it was easier.  I had alot of phrases to work with, once I decided on the once I chose, I enjoyed the challenge of being at my desk.  Having my desk and everything else there as an obstacle, I was truly in my "work" environment, I don't often think of movement there, so I really enjoyed the challenge.  

Sickle Cell Week 6 Health Blog

I had no idea September was Sickle Cell Awareness Month, when I was thinking about my health blog post this week, I began to think about someone I worked with in the hospital who had Sickle Cell.  I first hand experienced the effects of sickle cell and the pain.

It is estimated that:

• SCD affects 90,000 to 100,000 Americans.
• SCD occurs among about 1 out of every 500 Black or African-American births.
• SCD occurs among about 1 out of every 36,000 Hispanic-American births.
• SCT occurs among about 1 in 12 Blacks or African Americans.

(http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/sicklecell)

SCD is a group of inherited red blood cell disorders. Healthy red blood cells are round, and they move through small blood vessels to carry oxygen to all parts of the body. In someone who has SCD, the red blood cells become hard and sticky and look like a C-shaped farm tool called a “sickle”. The sickle cells die early, which causes a constant shortage of red blood cells. Also, when they travel through small blood vessels, they get stuck and clog the blood flow. This can cause pain and other serious problems such infection, acute chest syndrome and stroke. 

Over a year I worked with this patient and we found movement to release some of the pain and imagery, at one point the doctors turned to me and said she won't do anything for us, can you help.  We had built a connection and though she was in alot of pain we explored imagery like riding a roller coaster, and slowly she would allow her hands to move.  Before working with her I had not known anything about SCD, as I did some research I learned of a boy Keone Penn who underwent the first stem cell transplant, he was sucesfully cured of his sickle cell, though he did have other complications.  I shared this with my friend and she became amazed and brought it up to the doctors.  When I started to think about my health blog this week I thought of him and was very sadden when I typed in his name to find that this June he passed away.  

The information I found says he had been assaulted which lead to his hospitalization and multiple complication caused his death.  All very unclear, and sad.  

He was such a hero to the sickle cell community, I hope his story still inspires other people with SCD. 
I left my comments on a article/blog I found about his death. 

Here is a short video about SCD: 

REFERENCE:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/sicklecell/

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-obituaries/keone-penn-27-medical-trailblazer-wanted-to-be-a-c/nYXxF/

Affeldt, D., Jodoin, S., MacDonald, A., & Smith, A. (2007). Life Now, Or Life Later?: The Promise of Stem Cells. Science In Africa.
Chicago 

Creative Practice Week 5

Part of University of Florida's Dance major curriculum includes two semesters of West African by the one and only Mohamed DaCosta.  One semester of the class I was apart of the show Agbedidi.

While I was very emerged in the dance class I never ventured into the most important part, the drums!!

So I decided to go back and see Mohamed and ask if I could play the drums, and was thrilled when he said I could.  I had always enjoyed the rhythms of the drums but had never sat behind one.  At first I was so nervous, luckily many of the drummers knew me as a dancer and encouraged me.  After a few minutes I was whisked away my rhythm and the drums.  I remember at one point thinking my hands were hurting but I just kept going.  It was such a crazy experience, I'm sure I was totally off the rhythm but I got lost in the moment. 

This sense of flow state brought me back to a personal memory of Mohamed, one day in class he seemed almost angry or upset, he sat down at the drum and before I knew it he was completely unconnected from the world and was in his own world.  I truly experienced him in a flow state. While I don't know if I accomplished that full sense of flow state, I do think that I got lost in world of rhythms and drums. 

Some ways I might adapt this model for participants in the health settings is introducing them to something that they have been around or always wanted to try.  Children are so good at doing this, I would love to challenge and engage adult patients in this idea.  The idea of trying something new with not only a musical interment but also a physical art form such as a new style of painting such as water color or pottery.  To invite these adult participants I would engage them with an art form they are comfortable with and then introduce these new experiences.  I am so intrigued to see their reflections after the fact.  I would also like to approach this with just asking the patient to try this new thing, and then compare their reflections. 

Sadly I was unable to get any media of me drumming, partly because the time went so fast it was over before I even knew it.

Here are some clips about Mohamed and the dance class and show I participated in!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-NwqWo_wh0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH_c_3oeHfk

Health Blog Wk. 5

This week I heard about an interesting program called LSVT Loud and Big, this program is for people with Parkinson's

LSVT Big

Recently principles of LSVT LOUD™ were applied to limb movement in people with Parkinson disease (LSVT BIG™) and have been documented to be effective in the short term. Specifically, training increased amplitude of limb and body movement (Bigness) in people with Parkinson disease has documented improvements in amplitude (trunk rotation/gait) that generalized to improved speed (upper/lower limbs), balance, and quality of life. In addition, people were able to maintain these improvements when challenged with a dual task.

LSVT Loud 

LSVT LOUD™ is an effective speech treatment for individuals with Parkinson disease (PD) and other neurological conditions.  LSVT LOUD, named for Mrs. Lee Silverman (Lee Silverman Voice Treatment – LSVT) was developed in 1987 and has been scientifically studied for nearly 20 years with funding support from the National Institute for Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) of the National Institutes of Health. Published research data support improvements in vocal loudness, intonation, and voice quality for individuals with PD who received LSVT LOUD, with improvements maintained up to two years after treatment. Recent research studies have also documented the effectiveness of this therapy in improving the common problems of disordered articulation, diminished facial expression and impaired swallowing. Additionally, two brain imaging studies have documented evidence of positive changes in the brain following administration of the therapy.

After doing some research about these techniques I hit the internet, and found this recent blog post about Linda Rostadt and how she thought that since she has Parkinson's she can no longer sing, the blog article discusses her vocal therapy, but I thought I would share this therapy that I had recently learned about. 

BLOG ARTICLE: 

http://blog.aarp.org/2013/08/27/linda-ronstadt-new-parkinsons-therapies-may-help-you-to-sing/

SCREENSHOT: 

REFERENCE: 
http://www.lsvtglobal.com/patient-resources/what-is-lsvt-loud

Wk. 4 Health Issue Blog

This week I chose another subject close to me, prostate cancer.  My dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer a few years back, luckily he caught it early enough and is still cancer free.  September is Prostate Awareness Month! I posted on a blog "Women Against Prostate Cancer" about my support of this, I think that women should encourage men to get tested, these men are husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons and early detection can lead to easy recovery.  In the blog I posted a link to an article with statistics of prostate cancer.

My goal this month is to ask as many of my friends if there Dad, Uncle, Grandfather ect has been checked for prostate cancer, no offense to men, but many times it takes someone asking more than once to get things accomplished ;)

I hope you will do the same.


Here is a link to the blog as well as a screen shot of my comment!

http://www.womenagainstprostatecancer.org/2013/09/september-is-prostate-cancer-awareness-month

Week 4 Creative Practice

This week for our creative practice we were asked to create a self portrait collage

As I started going through my magazines, I began to notice mouths....something I don't think I normally notice, and then it got me thinking about my personal self portrait.

I titled my work "You Can't Stop Talking"

My mouth is used in so many ways each day as a teacher, friend, mentor, student, girlfriend, daughter, sometimes bad words come out, sometimes good words, I change my tone,  I change my language its so versatile.  I try to always smile, even while being frustrated or upset.  I use my mouth to love, I use my mouth to correct, I use my own mouth to correct myself, since sometimes I have to say things outloud to myself.  I use my mouth to talk to much, or to little.  My mouth can hurt people, or help people, my mouth can bring random people joy by simple, thank you.

What is your mouth used for..................

Keep Searching It Will Be Found

WEEK 3 Creative Practice Blog:

Creative Practice Prompt: Take a Line for Walk

"Out beyond wrong doing and right doing, there is a field. I'll meet you there."

Rumi

• This week we are going to Take a Line for Walk.
• Please use a fresh white piece of quality art paper (any size will do) and a black Sharpie to begin.
• I invite you to take a line for a walk without lifting the marker from the paper.
• When you have completed your line or drawing path, you will invariably have a number of abstract shapes and spaces.
• I invite you to fill in the shapes and spaces with blocks of color. There is no right or wrong way to complete this work of art.
• If you are struggling to put pen to paper, you may begin by writing your name (or another meaningful word) in cursive without lifting the pen. Again, you will have many shapes and spaces to fill.
• Please title the work with a Six Word Title, and make sure you sign your name to the work!
• Please use audio, video, and photos to share your work on your Creative Practice Blog Post.

Additional Explorations:

• If you would like to complete a second work, you may Take a Line for a Walk Down Memory Lane, as one of my artist in residence colleagues, Dr. Rose Marie Prins, often does.
• What are some others ways you might adapt this model for participants in health settings?
• If you were to add a second artistic discipline to deepen this creative process, what might you add?
• If you were to adapt the creative prompt for a specific health population, what might you say to invite the participant into the creative process with you?

REFLECTIONS:

As I sat down to do this, I first thought, oh no I can't draw and then immediately withdrew that thought from my mind, I am so bothers when people tell me they can't dance.  So I have to imagine to a visual artist my statement was  just as annoying.  I put my pen to the paper and before I knew it I had my outline, now I wanted to ofcourse re do it since I have that type of personality, but I challenged myself and didn't.  I started to color and had a flashback of being in grade school when I had a substitute teacher that showed us how to color with small lines rather that scribble, I remember going home that day and sharing with my mom this discovery, while I don't think it was important to anyone I remember thinking I love how tidy this is...........I decided to title my work:

"Keep Searching It Will Be Found"

This title came to be when I was reflecting on my artwork and the continuous line, and that while we are all always searching along the way there is so much beauty along with chaos.

I think that I will use this Take a Line for Walk concept and use it in many settings including bed side at the hospital and with my younger dance students, I want to explore what can come from this a dance, a story, a song?  I think for all populations I want to explore this concept with I will start with just simple directions hand them a marker and paper and tell them to put their marker on the paper and start moving without taking it off the paper.  After that I would add in the color aspect or not.

Looking forward to explore this!!

Health Issues Blog: Parkinson's and Importance of Be Trials

I did it again....and yet I am still nervous but getting better about posting.

This week I decided to explore something very near and dear to my heart, Parkinson's Disease.  Three times a week I am fortunate enough to lead a class "Dance for Life" which is a hour and fifteen minute dance class.  The class is for people living with Parkinson's Disease and their caregivers, I started working with this program three years ago and my life hasn't been the same sense.  The relationships I have created are unforgettable.

During my undergraduate work I volunteered with the program, and this June I was honored to be offered the position as Dancer in Residence with UF Health Center for Arts in Medicine.  I have had such a journey leading this class, I don't like to say teaching because truthfully they are the teachers and I am the student many times, but it is a collective journey together.

Part of this class I lead is a Case Study ongoing, while my involvement with this is not large, I found as I was reading through some blogs the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Disease website and from there the blog.  It is so great, this week I commented on a blog post about the importance of participating in Clinical Trials, which I find so important, not just because I am indirectly part of one, but also because of the people I work with. These people are so willing to try and explore anything that may help them with this disease.

After reading the blog I did some more research on the benefits of Clinical Trials for people with Parkinson's and came across this very interesting paper titled "Power of the mind The effect of placebo on primary dysmenorrhoea" by Naomi Lagerweij and Nienke Schalij, at first I was wondering what this paper had to do about people with Parkinson's but after reading it found some very interesting points, one of my favorites was:

"Parkinson's disease offers an interesting model to understand the relationship between expectations and neuronal systems. "

I hadn't even thought about anything in regards to that, this is just showing more and more how importance participation in Clinical Trials are, I am excited to add this blog to my list (which is getting quite long) and hoping for a response so that I can engage more in conversation about this. I also can't wait to share this site with my dancers, and see if they have been using it?

Below is a short video with Michael J Fox discussing his journey and how his name can help find a cure: 

Here is a link to the blog I responded to:

https://www.michaeljfox.org/foundation/news-detail.php?clinical-trial-participation-is-easier-than-you-think-says-one-volunteer



Reference:

Lagerweij, N., & Schalij, N. Power of the mind. (2012)

http://www.knawonderwijsprijs.nl/upload/werkstukken/2012_NG_Power%20of%20the%20Mind.pdf

Six Word Memoir

Our creative practice this week was to write a six word autobiography, narrative of the present moment, vision statement and to explore these in another aspect of life work or health.  When I first read this assignment and article, I was so intrigued but then as I sat down to write I was lost.

Why is it so hard to be simple and concise, it reminds me of the Albert Einstein quote "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." Which made me question, do I not know my self well enough or my present moment? After some journaling and using more than 6 words I got into the groove.

Some of my samples:

25 years young, 25 years old
Standing leg independent, working leg dependent
Plie tendu my life's to do
Make the list remake the list
Always searching for more, never less
Always be present always be change
Crossfit strong, children happy, always moving
Early bed early rise happy place
I talk but I should listen
"Perfect Life" not so perfect person
Failure ok but wished I believed
Six words makes you explore
Limitation create boundaries that you destroy
My Indian name "runs with scissors"
Fewer words, bigger thoughts, try it
Movement explore life movement creates life
STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE
Explore more, question more, doubt less
My mom is my best friend

With reflection of these I started working on this phrase that I taught my intermediate/advance modern students at the dance studio.

This is the article for reference: 

Six-Word Memoirs: LIfe Stories Distilled

Look Me In The Eye: My first Health Blog Respone

Can I really be doing a real blog....yes yes I am

I just responded to my first blog, let me tell you I was nervous, some people say talking on the internet is easier, I disagree.  I don't want to sound stupid or uneducated but I also understand that this is a learning process, just like doing a crossword  you don't pick up the paper and say hey I just finished the crossword.  It takes time and practice, just like blogging does I think.

I wonder if anyone will ever respond?  I am so happy that I found this blog though, and now 5 hours later, I need to be productive with other parts of my life :)

One thing I find so interesting about the Autism spectrum is the unknown, every single person is so different, in life and in the spectrum.  This is just a small bite I think of the controversy in this discussion. I commented on this article with another article I find very interesting.

http://nymag.com/news/features/autism-spectrum-2012-11/

See the blog I responded to here:

Look Me In The Eye: Autism and Asperger's - points on a curve, or different conditions?http://jerobison.blogspot.com/2013/08/autism-and-aspergers-points-on-curve-or.html

Introduction

Hello

My name is Emily I am a 25 year old, poodle lover, yes I have two poodles Fiji and YaYa and they basically run my life.  I am also a dance teacher and dancers in residence, I work for UF Health Shands Center for Arts in Medicine and facilitate a dance class three times  a week called "Dance for Life" this class is for people living with Parkinson's and their caregivers.  I also teach dance throughout the community in Gainesville, FL.

I graduated with my BFA in Dance from the University of Florida and undergraduate certificates in both Dance in Medicine and Arts in Healthcare. I enjoy brining dance to all communities and sharing movement with everyone.

I've created this blog as part of my participation in Foundations of the Arts in Medicine class at the University of Florida, while I am pursing my masters certificate in Arts in Healthcare. I am so excited for my journey---and glad you all will be joining me!

Fiji and YaYa

Dance For Life 

Me the first day of school and the first day of my Masters