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