Although I have some wonderful group projects planned, at the moment I'm going with individual pieces that can be completed within the one session. My darling group of elderly people with dementia really need that instant reward for their efforts!
This week I found a lovely picture of tulips on line. It's a free printable but unfortunately my watercolour paper is too thick for the printer so I redrew it several times and pre-painted the backgrounds in blues and purples. This provided my group with section (of tulips) that they can paint, and an artistic choice while removing the confusion of too many lines and blank spaces.
Go here to learn more about how I have come to modify some of my teaching beliefs and practices (in particular the use of colouring sheets) when creating art with people with advanced dementia.
We started with a palette of red, yellow and fluorescent pink, then I later added two shades of green to the colour choices. I provided the green later to avoid mixing muddy colours.
They seem to prefer the painting process over colouring (see our Goldfish wax crayon resist project last week). I think this is because they get an instant result, and strong vibrant colours.
We had so many great successes with this painting! Although many residents (sadly including my lovely mum) are simply unable to focus for more than a moment or two, there are several who, like Rae, June and Rose, spent a whole hour painting, and only stopped because it was lunch time! It is so rewarding to see their satisfaction and pride in their art work.... :)
Go here to see all my Paddy Projects!!
I love this! And I especially love that you are giving art experiences to our older population. I'd like to work with this kind of group myself one day!
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