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Thursday, April 20, 2017
Alzheimer's Iron Green Mountain Sculptures - Returned to Resident Artists of Cambridge Guest Homes
In summer 2015 residents of Cambridge Guest Home participated in a Alzheimer's Glass and Iron Sculpture Workshop. The elderly artists used Crayola Modeling Clay to sculpt, artists lead the workshop using the Green Mountains as a prompt and encouraging dialogue based on preserved memory. One lady sculpted the canoe her and her husband used to take into the lakes at the base of the Green Mountains. Once the clay sculptures were created, volunteer artists made molds around them and poured the sculptures in cast iron. Below are images of the sculptures being returned in metal to a few of the residents who participated in our workshop.
Children's Cast Iron Memory Workshops 2015
In these hour long children’s activity being held at multiple libraries throughout Washington County NY, the Alzheimer’s Glass and Iron volunteer team will be reading the Children’s Book “What’s Happening to Grandpa?” by Maria Shiver, supplied by the Alzheimer’s Association. We will then have a group discussion about memory, while enjoying a snack. The children will be given a relief scratch block made out of sand that they can carve into. We ask that the children represent something of their own memory in the scratch block. The scratch blocks will be poured in iron as part of an Alzheimer’s Iron pour going on at Salem Art Works. The children will be able to watch their relief carvings turned into a cast iron block using metal poured at 2200 degrees by trained professionals.
2015 Alzheimer's Glass and Iron Residency Artists
From Left to Right:
Maria Bentley, Haley Jelinek, Elise Betrus, Rosemarie Oakman, Paige Henry
Franconia Sculpture Park 2015 - Hot Metal Artist - Rosemarie Oakman
AN ARTIST ON A MISSION: ROSEMARIE OAKMAN
INTERVIEW BY MADDIE BUTLER , AUGUST 10TH 2015
Tell me a little bit about your project.
I founded and directed a project called Alzheimer’s Glass and Iron, which is a cross-generational arts program. We are certified by the Alzheimer’s Association and their Memories in the Making watercolor workshop to go into nursing homes and facilitate watercolor workshops as well as sculpture workshops with the elderly who have Alzheimer’s and dementia. So since I’ve been here at Franconia we’ve been painting and sculpting the lakes in this region. I conducted the program with over 35 elderly individuals in the Twin Cities and the nearby St. Croix Valley. They all created different bodies of water that have memories connected to them, and the clay sculptures were cast in iron at the Community Collaboration Hot Metal Pour on August 1.
What happens to the sculptures after you cast them?
I give the sculptures a colorful patina and then give them back to the elderly. One of the really upsetting parts of the program is that the elderly really have no recollection of making the sculptures because they’re dealing with memory loss. So we’ve added their names to the bottom of the lakes and that gives it a more personal touch. They are on round plates so it’s a very familiar touch of someone holding this round object because it resembles a dish which each of these people has held in their hands.
How did you get started with this project?
I started this program when I was at Alfred University. I always had a passion for working with the elderly and I minored in geriatric. While I was there I started a club that would go out and do art activities with the elderly. There were a lot of people that were mixed in with the cognitively normal functioning residents who had Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. And confusing little things would happen. I would ask someone how old they were and they would say “oh I’m 15” and I’d be sitting across from someone who is in their 80’s. That led me to investigating Alzheimer’s a little more. I became very sympathetic towards the disease and what it’s doing to the individual, as well as their families. This project is a way of using art to comfort both the individual and their families because the object cast in iron is something that will live on for as long as the family wants to hold onto it.
What’s your favorite part of the project?
My favorite part of the project by far is the outreach with the elderly. You see a really dramatic change from the beginning of the workshops to the end of the workshops, with people’s moods lightening up. They become much more imaginative, and are much more cognitively engaged, which is really nice to see because in nursing homes and assisted living facilities people aren’t always receiving one-on-one interaction. This is one-on-one attention is specifically focused on them and their memories in a very positive light, in a way that they are able to reminisce. In the workshops, many times people are reminiscing about their favorite memories and then that goes off on a tangent. No matter where they are within their memory loss they do pick out their favorite memories. It’s very sweet to see the artwork they create. Last week in one of the workshops, one of the women was incredibly proud of her painting of the lake and she screamed out “I can’t wait to show this to my mom and dad,” so in her mind she’s a young child but there is still that enthusiasm and go-get-em point of view about her artwork, so that’s really nice to see. And just how the arts can affect someone who is cognitively impaired in such an impactful way.
What is the relationship between the materials glass and iron with people with Alzheimer’s?
When I started the program, I was creating the watercolor paintings using only iron colored oxides. And we started off just using iron which is a really dominant mineral in this earth. It’s everywhere; it’s in our bodies and running through our blood. It’s one media that kind of connects us all. So we were using iron oxides and then creating the sculptures based in iron and that was the artistic view for this program. But there are always kinks involved, so as we were creating paintings with just red and yellow and black iron oxide with people who were suffering from memory loss and already confused, and they were like “I can’t paint the sky yellow and I don’t want to paint the grass red.” We were of course catering to them and their needs so we introduced a watercolor brand from Germany that’s recommended by the Alzheimer’s Association. In doing that we wanted to add that bright rich color to our sculptures so we added glass. Two of my close friends and colleagues from college are glass blowers so they took over the glass portion of the program.
What’s the most important lesson that this opportunity at Franconia has taught you?
Since I’ve been at Franconia, I’ve been expanding the program in more ways. Meaning not limiting it to just sculpture but opening it up to all artistic media. So that would mean bringing in people who do performance and screenprinters, and painters and photographers and having them all create art with the elderly and make their own artwork based off of the elderly’s paintings. That’s something I’ve been thinking more about and will be in the next stages of planning soon. It’s interesting to come to a sculpture park and think “I guess we should break away from sculpture,” but I’ve just been thinking a lot about taking those next steps since being here.
What are you plans after leaving Franconia?
After leaving Franconia I’m going to start looking into graduate school within arts administration. I would love to continue the Alzheimer’s Glass and Iron Project, which I think will become Alzheimer’s Artworks for as long as Alzheimer’s is still not cured.
I founded and directed a project called Alzheimer’s Glass and Iron, which is a cross-generational arts program. We are certified by the Alzheimer’s Association and their Memories in the Making watercolor workshop to go into nursing homes and facilitate watercolor workshops as well as sculpture workshops with the elderly who have Alzheimer’s and dementia. So since I’ve been here at Franconia we’ve been painting and sculpting the lakes in this region. I conducted the program with over 35 elderly individuals in the Twin Cities and the nearby St. Croix Valley. They all created different bodies of water that have memories connected to them, and the clay sculptures were cast in iron at the Community Collaboration Hot Metal Pour on August 1.
What happens to the sculptures after you cast them?
I give the sculptures a colorful patina and then give them back to the elderly. One of the really upsetting parts of the program is that the elderly really have no recollection of making the sculptures because they’re dealing with memory loss. So we’ve added their names to the bottom of the lakes and that gives it a more personal touch. They are on round plates so it’s a very familiar touch of someone holding this round object because it resembles a dish which each of these people has held in their hands.
How did you get started with this project?
I started this program when I was at Alfred University. I always had a passion for working with the elderly and I minored in geriatric. While I was there I started a club that would go out and do art activities with the elderly. There were a lot of people that were mixed in with the cognitively normal functioning residents who had Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. And confusing little things would happen. I would ask someone how old they were and they would say “oh I’m 15” and I’d be sitting across from someone who is in their 80’s. That led me to investigating Alzheimer’s a little more. I became very sympathetic towards the disease and what it’s doing to the individual, as well as their families. This project is a way of using art to comfort both the individual and their families because the object cast in iron is something that will live on for as long as the family wants to hold onto it.
What’s your favorite part of the project?
My favorite part of the project by far is the outreach with the elderly. You see a really dramatic change from the beginning of the workshops to the end of the workshops, with people’s moods lightening up. They become much more imaginative, and are much more cognitively engaged, which is really nice to see because in nursing homes and assisted living facilities people aren’t always receiving one-on-one interaction. This is one-on-one attention is specifically focused on them and their memories in a very positive light, in a way that they are able to reminisce. In the workshops, many times people are reminiscing about their favorite memories and then that goes off on a tangent. No matter where they are within their memory loss they do pick out their favorite memories. It’s very sweet to see the artwork they create. Last week in one of the workshops, one of the women was incredibly proud of her painting of the lake and she screamed out “I can’t wait to show this to my mom and dad,” so in her mind she’s a young child but there is still that enthusiasm and go-get-em point of view about her artwork, so that’s really nice to see. And just how the arts can affect someone who is cognitively impaired in such an impactful way.
What is the relationship between the materials glass and iron with people with Alzheimer’s?
When I started the program, I was creating the watercolor paintings using only iron colored oxides. And we started off just using iron which is a really dominant mineral in this earth. It’s everywhere; it’s in our bodies and running through our blood. It’s one media that kind of connects us all. So we were using iron oxides and then creating the sculptures based in iron and that was the artistic view for this program. But there are always kinks involved, so as we were creating paintings with just red and yellow and black iron oxide with people who were suffering from memory loss and already confused, and they were like “I can’t paint the sky yellow and I don’t want to paint the grass red.” We were of course catering to them and their needs so we introduced a watercolor brand from Germany that’s recommended by the Alzheimer’s Association. In doing that we wanted to add that bright rich color to our sculptures so we added glass. Two of my close friends and colleagues from college are glass blowers so they took over the glass portion of the program.
What’s the most important lesson that this opportunity at Franconia has taught you?
Since I’ve been at Franconia, I’ve been expanding the program in more ways. Meaning not limiting it to just sculpture but opening it up to all artistic media. So that would mean bringing in people who do performance and screenprinters, and painters and photographers and having them all create art with the elderly and make their own artwork based off of the elderly’s paintings. That’s something I’ve been thinking more about and will be in the next stages of planning soon. It’s interesting to come to a sculpture park and think “I guess we should break away from sculpture,” but I’ve just been thinking a lot about taking those next steps since being here.
What are you plans after leaving Franconia?
After leaving Franconia I’m going to start looking into graduate school within arts administration. I would love to continue the Alzheimer’s Glass and Iron Project, which I think will become Alzheimer’s Artworks for as long as Alzheimer’s is still not cured.
(Paintings below created by 'Memories in the Making' Workshop Participants. The prompt for the painting workshops were Minnesota's Lakes. )
Clay Lakes created by elderly individuals living with dementia in St.Paul and Minneapolis Minnesota, cast in iron at Franconia Sculpture Park by Rosemarie Oakman, during the Community Collaboration Pour in August, 2015.
Alzheimer's Iron - Mountain Ranges 2015
Clay sculptures of the Adirondacks and Green Mountains were sculpted by elderly individuals living in memory care facilities in Warren, Washington and Saratoga Counties. The prompt of mountains lead to discussions about hiking with loved ones, playing in the valley with siblings, canoeing on Lake Bomoseen and looking out the kitchen window at the beautiful green mountains. Select Mountain Ranges were selected to be cast in iron at Salem Art Works during the 2015 summer Alzheimer's Glass and Iron Residency.
Monday, October 26, 2015
Southeastern College Arts Conference
On Thursday October 22nd the Alzheimer's Glass and Iron project's founder Rosemarie Oakman spoke on a panel about Cast Iron Art at the Southeastern College Art Conference in Pittsburgh, PA. Alzheimer's Iron in the IRON CITY. A big thank you to everyone who attended the panel and learned about our community arts project that use art to raise awareness about Alzheimer's disease and act compassionately to those touched by it.
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Alzheimer's & Art
#communityart #alzheimersawareness #ENDALZ #alzglassandiron #alzheimersassociation #castironart #glassart #talkdementia
Monday, September 7, 2015
Alzheimer's Iron at the Intercollegiate Pour
The Alzheimer's Iron team is so excited for Salem Art Work's 9th Annual Intercollegiate Iron Pour!! Hope to see everyone there September 25th, 26th and 27th!! #Salemartworks #SAW #ironpour #moltenmetal #intercolliagteironpour #alzglassandiron
Painting the Green Mountains
This summer elderly artists living with Dementia painted the Green and Adirondack Mountain ranges for two weeks in late June during the Alzheimer's Glass and Iron residency at Salem Art Works. Three nursing homes were involved and over two dozen paintings were created. Stimulating the elderly's imagination and allowing the individuals to express themselves.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Alzheimer's Glass in Sartoga Springs.
The two glass sculptures below were created by artists at Salem Art Works and based off of watercolor paintings created by elderly individuals living at the Wesley Community in Saratoga Springs, NY. The glass sculptures and paintings were returned to the Wesley on June 20th, 2015 as part of an Alzheimer's Awareness Brunch hosted by the Alzheimer's Glass and Iron project. At the Alzheimer's Awareness Brunch, Bill Hinrich of the Eastern, New York Alzheimer's Association preseted the "Basics of Memory Loss", followed by a short presentation by the Alzheimer's Glass and Iron project. All together three glass sculptures and one cast iron sculptures were donated to the Wesley Community that day. A big thank you to all of the elderly artists as well as glass and metal artists involved!
Thursday, June 4, 2015
HEFeSTUS - IRON POUR FESTIVAL-BEACON, NY
Thank you to everyone who made the HEFeSTUS pour possible. It was a great time pouring with you all! What a wonderful event organized by the talented Marisa Lomonaco, Chip Schwartz and Charlie Engelman. Live music, delicious local food, cold beer, hot iron, burlesque and a big gathering of community in Beacon, New York. Congratulations you guys, we are so happy we were a part of HEFeSTUS 2015!
Salem Art Works ran the Alzheimer's Iron furnace and cast 35 sculptures created by elderly individuals living with Alzheimer's Disease in Beacon and Fishkill, New York, Cambridge, New York and Bennington Vermont. All of the sculptures will be returned to the nursing homes or to the families of the elderly individuals.
Rebbeca Flis ran an a kiln to melt wax out of ancient African dung molds and Messo American Charcoal Molds. The mold are environmentally friendly and a unique and interesting approach to cast iron art. The sculptures inside were created by members of the Salem Art Works community. If you are interested in learning the process and creating your own dung and charcoal molds please check
Images of the finished Alzheimer's Iron sculptures as well as the sculptures made in ancient dung and charcoals molds will be posted in the future.
Special thanks to Michael Bonadio, Zac Ward, Chase Winkler, Rebecca Flis, Tim Peters, Michael Dominick, Morgan Donahue, Matt Mroz and Robert Modafferi for a smooth pour with white hot metal.
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| Dung and Charcoal Molds in the Fire Brick Kiln |
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| Ancient Mold Kiln. |
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| Charcoal molds with molten iron inside. |
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| Alzheimer's Iron Furnace |
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Alzheimer's Awareness Brunch at Salem Art Works
Wednesday, July 1st
Please RSVP by calling 845-705-7499 or email alzheimersiron@gmail.com
11:00am-1:00pm
Salem Art Works
19 Cary Ln, Salem, NY 12865
The Alzheimer’s Glass and Iron project along with The Salem Art Works will be hosting a free educational brunch that will focus on Alzheimer’s Awareness. The Northeastern NY Alzheimer’s Association will be presenting, "Basics of Memory Loss" After the presentation, the Alzheimer’s Glass and Iron project will give a brief informational talk about the project and show examples of artwork made by the ten artists participating in the two week Alzheimer's Glass and Iron residency . Afterwards there will be a glass blowing demo in the Salem Art Work's hot shop. Members of the Alzheimer's Glass team will create a sculpture based off of a painting created by an elderly community members living with Alzheimer's Disease or Dementia. Brunch and drinks will be served.
Please RSVP by calling 845-705-7499 or email alzheimersiron@gmail.com
Free Alzheimer's Awareness Brunch
Saturday, June 20th
10:00-Noon
The Wesley Health Care Center
131 Lawrence Street, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Victoria dining room 2nd floor
The Alzheimer’s Glass and Iron project along with The Wesley Community will be hosting a free educational brunch that will focus on Alzheimer’s Awareness. The Northeastern NY Alzheimer’s Association will be presenting, "Basics of Memory Loss" After the presentation, the Alzheimer’s Glass and Iron project will give a brief informational talk about the project and show examples of artwork made by residents from The Wesley Community. Brunch and drinks will be served.
Please RSVP by calling 518-691-1517 or email tcholewinski@thewesleycommunity.org
Monday, June 1, 2015
Alzheimer's Glass and Iron - June 2015
June is Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month.
The Alzheimer's Glass and Iron project will be hosting several art with the elderly workshops, throughout the month of June. In these workshops elderly community members living with Alzheimer's and Dementia create watercolor paintings and sculptures based on their memories.
On Friday June 19th, will be hosting an Alzheimer's Awareness Brunch, at ...the Wesley Community in Saratoga Springs. The Alzheimer's Glass and Iron project will will be donating two glass and one iron, one of a kind sculptures, based off of paintings made by residents of the Wesley. The presentation Basics of Alzheimer's and Dementia will be given by William Hinrich of the Eastern NY Alzheimer's Association.
Sunday June 21st marks the beginning of the Alzheimer's Glass and Iron residency at Salem Art Works. During the two week residency, 10 artists will create close to 100 cast iron sculptures designed by elderly living with Dementia. Each artist will also create a one of a kind glass or iron sculptures based off of paintings made by elderly individuals living with Alzheimer's Disease in Washington, Saratoga and Dutchess County.
During the residency the team will host another Alzheimer's Awareness Brunch at Salem Art Works on July 1st. A light brunch will be served during the Eastern NY Alzheimer's Association's presentation, the Basics of Alzheimer's and Dementia. The glass shop will be open after the presentation, Alzheimer's Glass Blowers will demonstrate making a glass sculpture, based off of a painting created by an elderly community member living with Alzheimer's disease.
At the end of the residency at Salem Art Works, all of the sculptures created will be donated back to the nursing homes or to the families of the elderly artists.
Please support the creation of over 100 sculptures by the Alzheimer's Glass and Iron project, as well as all of the activates we have planned this June, by donating to our Kickstarter page.
A big THANK YOU to our Kickstarter backers, Salem Art Works, The Eastern New York Alzheimer's Association and the Wesley Community for making these activities possible.
#alzglassandiron #endalz #endalzheimers
The Alzheimer's Glass and Iron project will be hosting several art with the elderly workshops, throughout the month of June. In these workshops elderly community members living with Alzheimer's and Dementia create watercolor paintings and sculptures based on their memories.
On Friday June 19th, will be hosting an Alzheimer's Awareness Brunch, at ...the Wesley Community in Saratoga Springs. The Alzheimer's Glass and Iron project will will be donating two glass and one iron, one of a kind sculptures, based off of paintings made by residents of the Wesley. The presentation Basics of Alzheimer's and Dementia will be given by William Hinrich of the Eastern NY Alzheimer's Association.
Sunday June 21st marks the beginning of the Alzheimer's Glass and Iron residency at Salem Art Works. During the two week residency, 10 artists will create close to 100 cast iron sculptures designed by elderly living with Dementia. Each artist will also create a one of a kind glass or iron sculptures based off of paintings made by elderly individuals living with Alzheimer's Disease in Washington, Saratoga and Dutchess County.
During the residency the team will host another Alzheimer's Awareness Brunch at Salem Art Works on July 1st. A light brunch will be served during the Eastern NY Alzheimer's Association's presentation, the Basics of Alzheimer's and Dementia. The glass shop will be open after the presentation, Alzheimer's Glass Blowers will demonstrate making a glass sculpture, based off of a painting created by an elderly community member living with Alzheimer's disease.
At the end of the residency at Salem Art Works, all of the sculptures created will be donated back to the nursing homes or to the families of the elderly artists.
Please support the creation of over 100 sculptures by the Alzheimer's Glass and Iron project, as well as all of the activates we have planned this June, by donating to our Kickstarter page.
A big THANK YOU to our Kickstarter backers, Salem Art Works, The Eastern New York Alzheimer's Association and the Wesley Community for making these activities possible.
#alzglassandiron #endalz #endalzheimers
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