Virtual program to encourage art creation in people with dementia

A free virtual program by the Alzheimer’s Association Hudson Valley Chapter will offer people with dementia and their family caregivers an opportunity for socializing and self-expression in September and beyond.

“Something for Alz: Expressive Art with Bethel Woods” will start on Tuesday, Sept. 1, and continue weekly through Oct. 6. The series of 45-minute Zoom sessions will be led by Candace Rivela, a nationally licensed, registered Creative Arts Therapist and the Lead Teaching Artist at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. Bethel Woods is a nonprofit cultural center located at the historic site of the 1969 Woodstock festival.

Rivela said that the sessions will each center on a different piece from the Center’s museum collection and historic landmarks on the site.

“Each week will introduce a new theme and a new art-making activity,” she said. “There will be themes like community, family, peace, music and nature.”

Rivela said one of the activities will center around an art installation at the Bindy Bazaar Trail at Bethel Woods by artist Carol Hummel, who wrapped trees in crocheting and yarn, incorporating different colors and shapes in her work “Crocheted Connections: Embracing Bindy.”

“We’re going to be looking at pictures of the installation, and that will be the inspiration for the art project that day,” she said, adding she will ask participants to find a medium-sized sturdy stick in preparation. “We’re going to be making Intention Sticks using yarn to wrap the stick. The act of wrapping the stick with yarn is a soothing tactile experience that gets people engaged. After wrapping you write a word or a phrase that hangs from the stick that is meant to be a positive intention, and this becomes a reminder of how you want to feel when you look at it.”

Another activity the group will be doing is expressive scribble drawings to music.

“I’m going to be playing a selection of music — some classical and also songs of the Woodstock era. I’ll ask participants to listen to the music and respond with a scribble gesture. When the scribbles are done, they can go back in and fill in the negative spaces with color to complete the pieces. I’m planning to ask participants to reflect on how they felt when they were listening to the music and how it affected their drawing. I’ll also encourage them to share what kinds of music they enjoy and what they remember about the Woodstock era and the festival, or if they were there.”

She said the activity aims to help participants relax and tap into their intuition.

“I’m going to encourage them to try scribbling with their dominant and their non-dominant hands and with their eyes closed. It’s all about trusting your intuition and enjoying the act of drawing. I don’t want people to get too wrapped up with what the finished product is going to look like. The emphasis will be on the process in all of our projects, but the results will also be aesthetically pleasing.”

Rivela said art therapy has particular benefits for people with dementia.

“For people with Alzheimer’s and dementia, art therapy can really help to reduce agitation, boost mood, and create a sense of pride and accomplishment through the act of creating. One of the reasons I think this process is particularly beneficial for this group is because when you’re making art in a therapeutic context, the whole brain is active, and the senses are stimulated,” she said. “You’re using your hands through the physical exploration of the art materials. Sometimes you’re listening to music while you are making art, so you’re using the creative, imaginative right side of the brain, which often activates emotions and memories. At the same time, you’re then reflecting on what you made and talking about it, so you’re using more of the left-brain critical thinking skills.”

She said art therapy is also helpful because it provides those with limited verbal communication a vehicle for self-expression.

“The process of art-making often triggers the feelings and memories a person has within them, which can be difficult to describe, so it’s great to have a nonverbal outlet to express these things when they come up.”

To participate in this program, call the Alzheimer’s Association at 800.272.3900 or click here.

About the Hudson Valley Chapter

The Hudson Valley Chapter serves families living with dementia in seven counties in New York, including Duchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester. To learn more about the programs and services offered locally, visit alz.org/hudsonvalley.

About the Alzheimer's Association

The Alzheimer's Association leads the way to end Alzheimer's and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection and maximizing quality care and support. Its vision is a world without Alzheimer's and all dementia. Visit alz.org

About Bethel Woods Center for the Arts

Located 90 miles from New York City at the site of the 1969 Woodstock festival in Bethel, NY, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts features an 800-acre campus, featuring a pavilion stage amphitheater with seating for 15,000, an intimate 440-seat indoor event gallery, the Museum at Bethel Woods and a conservatory for arts education programming. For more information, visit www.BethelWoodsCenter.org.