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