GO AHEAD - MAJOR IN ART

When you think of art, what springs into your mind? The Mona Lisa? A child's drawing proudly displayed on the front of the refrigerator?  Perhaps music. Or maybe the images of the "starving artist," enjoying his or her craft, even knowing that chances are he or she will never become financially "rich."  

I wonder if many people consider the impact art has on us in our daily lives.  Look around where you are sitting.  Art is all around you: the design of the chair in which you are sitting, photographs of family and friends and places you have visited, the song on the radio, what you're wearing.  All of those things were envisioned and designed by artists. Sadly, though, I believe art is under-appreciated in our society.  My husband, the engineer, is just about to blow an electrical fuse because my younger daughter wants to major in metals and objects (i.e., jewelry). He's more accepting of engineers, lawyers, and doctors.  I know lots of unhappy engineers, lawyers, and doctors. I don't know any unhappy artists.

Turns out, art is making a more positive effect on people's lives than my husband, the engineer,  believes. The medical profession is learning that art therapy is a useful tool in treating patients with all different types of illnesses.  My psychiatrist is particularly enlightened about the positive effect of art for his patients. I wish you could see his waiting room.  It's a gallery of works created by some of them.  It's a wonderful tool for his patients to express things they are experiencing as they struggle to live life with a mental illness.  For some, it's a skill they didn't realize they had until their illness gave them the time and opportunity to explore their abilities to create something for other people to study and enjoy.

As a bonus, the art also has a positive effect on my psychiatrist.  He revels in showing off new acquisitions to his other patients.  It's logical to assume that a happy psychiatrist is a good psychiatrist - we all benefit from that.  Score: art: 1; engineering, lawyering and doctoring: 0. (I know - I'm including the doctors in the zero category after having just made reference to a happy doctor; but, he's inspired by art. Just go with it.)

So what about Parkinson's Disease and the impact of art on those who must incorporate Parkinson's into their lives? From my reading, two particular forms stand out.  

One is demonstrated in a variety of art created by Parkinson's patients that display amazing talents.  It's clear from those pieces that the artists used a significant amount of control and imagination to create their works. Take Leo Robichaud. Leo is a Parkinson's patient who sold paint for BASF for many years. Now he uses paint to create folk art and help him cope with his Parkinson's Disease. (http://www.parkinson.org/Personal-Stories/Artist-finds-Folk-Art-painting-a-good-therapy-for-) Or visit the Parkinson's Disease Foundation's website. (http://www.pdf.org/en/gallery) It sponsors an incredible gallery of Parkinson's art.  There are art presentations for music, writing, painting, ceramics, and photography, just to name a few.  I feel quite small when I look at what these fellow Parkinson's patients have done.

In a more clinical setting, art therapists use finger painting and clay molding to improve the manipulation and control skills of patients.  Studies show that Parkinson's patients who participate in art therapy retain or improve motor and cognitive skills.  They also have improved emotional and mental outlooks.  (See http://www.metafora.org/eng/eng_arterapia_parkinson.html) Personally, I want to be all over anything that helps me retain whatever cognitive skills I have left.

I ponder the prospect of my own art therapy.  I don't know what it would be. I certainly wouldn't want any painting I create to hang on the wall in my psychiatrist's office - the rest of his patients don't need that type of visual trauma. My daughter, the art major, turns the radio off if I start to sing along with a song, so I'm guessing that's not a good direction. Photography probably isn't an option either.  Do you see the butterfly in the photo on the left?  Neither do I, but it was there when I snapped the picture.

I suppose this blog is my art. I'm an attorney and writing comes naturally after years of drafting 401(k) plans.  I love to write. I've heard there are at least a couple of people who read what I write and that's a bonus. (Fortunate for those readers, I have elected to now write sans the references to the Internal Revenue Code that I held so dear when drafting those 401(k) plans.) Often, I write a paragraph or two about whatever issue it is that I want to discuss with Bob in my next therapy session.  He's a captive audience.  I pay him to read what I write.  I'm thinking about getting some Play-Doh to supplement my writing therapy.  I will use it to make a 3-D image of the puzzled look on Bob's face as he reads what I've written.  I'm going to use red Play-Doh.