League

Creative Reminiscence
Lizabeth Buckley
League artist Lizabeth Buckley takes her art to
elderly communities. Certified to lead classes in
“creative reminiscence,” she uses art to aid those
living with Alzheimer’s and dementia. She
has studied at the League for the past several
years with teachers Dan Gheno and Michael
Grimaldi, among others.
My grandparents were involved, supportive,
fun-loving older people. My grandmother
traveled the world, visiting Russia
and Africa long before doing so was popular.
So I always had a very positive attitude and
sensitivity to old people. As my grandparents
and parents aged, I saw the prejudice of
ageism. The culture of twenty-first century
capitalism is not one that respects its elders.
My interest in people with Alzheimer’s
and dementia specifically started when my
mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
It’s a disease that has earned its reputation
as “shattering.” I started reading a lot about
it. The only positive information I found,
by reading and attending seminars, was
that the last part of the brain to be affected
by Alzheimer’s—the amygdala—holds
our emotions and influences our creativity.
Because this has been proven in study after
study, there is a growing emphasis on bringing
poetry, the visual arts, and dance to those
with Alzheimer’s. Private and government
sponsored research proves that stimulation
of the amygdala benefits those with
Alzheimer’s for hours and days afterward.
It actually increases their memory for a
while. I became certified by a few organizations,
and I now lead “creative reminiscence”
classes. (I hesitate to classify myself as an art
“teacher”—I’m not building knowledge with
sequential classes but am trying to create an
experience for these folks.)
It’s well known that very old people may
not remember what they ate at lunch but
can vividly recall childhood stories. I love
hearing their stories firsthand. Most of the
people I work with are in their eighties, and
they grew up in Brooklyn or Manhattan,
right in the middle of the Great Depression.
Part of art therapy with elderly people is to
get the wheels turning a bit through the art
projects and the conversation they engender.
30 LINES from the League
Ultimately art therapy is about increasing
their self-esteem. It’s glorious when
that happens. Someone will start out very
grumpy but leave with a feeling of
satisfaction.
Necessity is the Mother of Invention …
I’ll use anything I can to jump-start my
groups’ memories and the stories. I bought a
fragrance that was popular decades ago and
treated the ladies to a splash for starters. If
I can get a hold of music from their generation,
I’ll play it. However, getting money
for art supplies for my programs is almost
impossible. It shouldn’t be, given that private
assisted living facilities charge upward of
$350 daily. I gave up trying, however; it
wasn’t worth my time and energy. That’s
when I really started getting creative. I use
out-of-date Art Students League workshop
posters, the laminated ones that advertise
the League’s workshops abroad, to double
as place mats. I set them up around the
table to signal that it’s “art time.” One of
the women, an astute reader despite her disability,
saw the poster for Dan Thompson’s
workshop in Florence and told me that she
wanted to go along. Another woman asked
me why I put the posters out on the table, as
the dates were old.
Some of our best projects recycle old Art
Students League catalogs. I cut out the artwork.
After discussing with the group what
they like about the images, we use them in
a montage, maybe adding words. I’ve had
people pick images and put them down on
paper that’s been folded into panels. Then I
ask them to alternate the images with a panel
of solid color, which they paint. When the
paint is dry, I fold the paper. In doing so, it
becomes a five-sided montage to hang from
the ceiling. What amazes me is the striking
images they always pick. It’s my belief that
having Alzheimer’s makes it natural for them