Creativity can help keep the doctor away

BY EDIE GROSS

The snow was coming down, and Ruth Ann Loving couldn't go anywhere.

For nearly three decades, she'd painted realistic still lifes and landscapes. But on this frosty day a few years ago, she pulled out her acrylics and tried something different--an abstract work.

"I wasn't pressured to do anything but paint the way I felt like painting. I couldn't go anywhere, and I didn't have any other restrictions," said Loving, who embraced abstract painting after that. "It put me in the right state of mind."

Three of her abstract pieces are featured in the "Arts Healing Journey" exhibit opening this week at Mary Washington Hospital.

The show, a partnership between Mary Washington Hospice and the local arts community, will grace the hospital's fourth-floor lobby for a month before moving to Carriage Hill Nursing Home in March and then Wilburn Gardens assisted living facility in April.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

Designed to showcase the link between the creative arts and wellness, the event features paintings, collages and photographs by 19 Fredericksburg-area artists.

Organizers say they hope the artwork will inspire others to pause for a moment, reflect on what they see and maybe even try to create something on their own.

The artists provided a statement with each piece, discussing why the image or the creative process in general is healing.

"Some of the stories were as powerful as the artwork," said Brenda Lynne, a social worker with Mary Washington Hospice who helped initiate the project.

PROMOTING HEALING

In the fall, Mary Washington Hospice launched its complementary therapies program, which incorporates art, music and massage into the treatment of patients and their families.

Hospice art therapist Jejung So tells the story of an Alzheimer's patient she worked with. The woman had once painted watercolors; but by the time So met her, she was no longer talking. At first, she tried to put the paints in her mouth.

Suddenly, she grabbed the paint brush So gave her and gripped it perfectly. Soon, she started painting and even speaking again, saying "so pretty" as she eyed her creation.

The art didn't cure her, So said. But it clearly triggered a memory and evoked a verbal response.

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"Arts Healing Journey," a collaborative effort between the arts community and Mary Washington Hospice, opens Thursday with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. in the fourth-floor lobby of Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg.

The exhibit features paintings, collages and photographs from 19 area artists: Mary Beth Algert, Deborah Booth, Nancy Brittle, Audrey Bruno, Dennis Carroll, Rachael Carroll, Bob Gibson, Betsy Glassie, Rick Klingbeil, Susan Krieg, Ruth Ann Loving, Pam Meeuwissen, Carol Phifer, Chris Rok, Carol Resch, Lois Jordan Rogers, Elizabeth Seaver, Sandy Leigh Skipper and Kathleen Walsh.

The works will remain at the hospital for a month before moving to two local retirement facilities. Sales of any artwork benefits hospice's complementary therapy program, which incorporates art, music and massage into the treatment of patients and their families.

Read more stories about Fredericksburg
Date published: 2/2/2010

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