Valentine Tangrams

To present a Valentine's activity as a volunteer at an ADS, I have begun researching how to make hearts from tangrams and origami.

Also, another fabric necklace has materialized since the paper and fabric bead post of January 23, 2013.

Original tangram tile (top) with tangram heart below

Origami hearts (left) and a tangram utilizing circles (right)

Tangrams of a cow and a horse (not necessarily for valentines, but couldn't resist)

Felt, fabric, and paper bead necklace made as an activities volunteer

Close-up of bead and fabric necklace

Abstract Drawings

Another activity from my Adult Day Service volunteering:  making abstract drawings to use as a discussion starter.

A caregiver I know will draw an abstract squiggle, ask "what might this be?" and enjoy the ensuing imaginative storytelling. Participants add their own markings, expanding the original squiggles into faces and figures.

An hour-long activity might begin with a discussion of Abstract Art versus Realism while passing around calendar pages exemplifying both. (There are many good ones at SCRAP)

Next, participants could trace or draw shapes on a page and color in the overlapping areas.

The finished products could spark more "what does this remind you of?" discussion by the group.

Beginnings of an abstract drawing

Templates used to lay out initial drawing

Colored-in drawing ready for "What might this be?" discussion.

Tactile Puzzles in Felt

As a volunteer at a PACE (Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) site, I met a vision-impaired participant. She was kind enough to try a tactile puzzle (in felt) that I made from the seven tiles of a tangram. We decided my first attempt was too abstract. (When I'd tried working the puzzle with my eyes closed, I could picture the layout in my mind, since I'd authored it. Surely that made the task too easy...)

The participant then told me about a puzzle her daughter had made involving pieces of fruit and a vase of flowers. Using felt and cardboard, I constructed a second puzzle. This one was successful in two regards:  People liked it and I discovered that needle-felting can be an exciting, almost paint-like medium.

Puzzle in needle-felted wool and cardboard

Puzzle in wet-felted wool, yarn, and cardboard

Wool felt tangram tiles, suitable for making an array of figures (see post of 1/11/2013)

Cardboard, yarn, and felt puzzles.

Paper Beads, Fabric Necklace

Today, the Ladies' Group at my ADS volunteering site began an ambitious project: making necklaces from wool, fabric, and paper. (See photos below for the finished product.)

Ingredients:

1) Felted beads
2) Paper beads
3) Fabric tube to hold it all together (cut fabric 2" x 18", fold right sides together, stitch, and turn the resulting tube right-side out)
4) Fastener fashioned from glass beads

The felted beads go inside the fabric tube -- they will form a springy "pillow bead" when covered in fabric.

The paper beads begin as triangles cut from book covers or other heavy, decorative paper. These are rolled around a drinking straw, glued down, and varnished.

Once all the ingredients are made, assemble the necklaces as follows:  Stuff a felt bead into the fabric tube, then thread the fabric through a paper bead to form a "pillow." Repeat until you run out of fabric. Stitch the fabric ends over the fastener, and wear or give to a friend.

Beads made from paper and drinking straws

Fabric tube, at top, shows one wool bead (enclosed in the tube) between two paper beads

Finished necklace, showing lengthy, beaded "fastener" at top

Paper triangle and straw used to make beads

Raw wool (on left) is rolled in participants' hands to form wool beads shown on the right

Some book covers (on left) used to make paper beads

Experiment using yarn knots in place of fabric tube

Watercolors and Alzheimer's Disease

I have been lucky enough to assist at two "Memories in the Making" (MIM) classes offered by the Alzheimer's Association. Under the guidance of an Art Therapist, participants paint, converse, and tell the stories that their painting process brings out. This was a fabulous opportunity for me to learn how painting sessions with early-stage cognitive care clients are facilitated.

Some comments made by participants:

"Painting helps me recall and tell a memory."

"No one is criticizing me here."

"Painting is easy when I'm telling a story."

John Zeisel's book, I'm Still Here, is of great help to a student of caregiving.

Painting by an MIM participant

There are many excellent books on caregiving -- this is one of my favorites

Paintings examples are from http://thememoriesinthemaking.com/

Synapses again

Back in 2012, while taking Roger Anunsen's "Mature Mind" class, I asked the library to find many of the books he recommended.

Here are three that arrived this week. (The greater a demand for the book, the longer the delivery time.)

Explores the brain science behind "peak" creative experiences

New York Times columnist simplifies and updates diet and fitness planning

Published in 2002, but not out-of-date -- a nice owner's manual for the brain

Tangrams

I've recently begun volunteering at an Adult Day Service. I lead crafts activities for a group of participants whose cognitive levels vary widely. The hour-long activity has to appeal to the group as a whole -- it should neither frustrate folks who have impairments nor bore the more nimble of mind. To accomplish this, the presentation needs to move in small steps from a very accessible introduction to a more difficult finale.

Also, activities ought to have a meaning-making element. I hope the group will like tangrams enough to use them as illustrations in a book we will make for children at a nearby Head Start program. I made a sample book in case the group wants to follow up this possibility.

One of the most important elements of a crafting session is the conversation triggered by the activity. Some of the comments overheard while working with tangrams last week:  "Cats are dumber than dogs." (followed by an animated discussion in defense of both cats and dogs). "This is making my brain work!" and "These are beautiful pictures."

As there was a visually impaired participant in our group, I brought a set of "tiles" made from felt, so she could explore the puzzle by touch. Next time I will glue some string guidelines to cardboard so she will have an easier time orienting the tiles to solve the puzzle.

Felt version of a tangram puzzle

Tangrams always use seven tiles to make an image

It is thought that tangrams were invented centuries ago, perhaps from breaking ceramic tiles

Sample pages of a book we might make for children

Two stages of presenting tangrams:  the cat (on right) is much easier than the rabbit (on left)

Sample page from the book we might make for the children in our intergenerational exchange