Ep. 005: Ageless Creativity | with Dr. Hayley Moseley and Brian Parman of CC Young
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In Episode 5, Amanda interviews Dr. Hayley Moseley, Director of Campus Education, and Brian Parman, Director of The Point & Pavilion from CC Young in Dallas, Texas, about how the arts inspire ageless creativity. CC Young's Spirit is Ageless Art and Writing Contest is a premier example of a LeadingAge Texas member celebrating the incredible talents of older adults, challenging societal perceptions, and inspiring a (renewed) appreciation for the arts. Dr. Hayley and Brian highlight the contest's history and purpose, the joy and pride it brings to participants, and the power of creative expression in connecting people and processing life experiences.
Additionally, they also emphasize the importance of creating environments that spark creativity, redefining the perception of art and creativity, and challenging ageist stereotypes. The episode concludes with inspiring stories highlighting the transformative power of creativity.
PS: CLICK HERE to learn more about CC Young's 2024 Spirit is Ageless Art and Writing Contest
CC Young residents and the general public, age 55 and better, are invited to submit their original art and writing creations. Online registration opens Thursday, August 1!
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This episode elevates the conversation with takeaways like:
Creative expression, such as art and writing, can bring joy, pride, and a sense of purpose to older adults, while also fostering connections and deeper relationships.
Creativity is not limited to traditional art forms; it can be found in various activities, such as gardening, cooking, and even creating a welcoming environment for others.
The process of creating is often more important than the final product, as it allows individuals to explore their identity, process emotions, and find meaning.
Creating environments that encourage and support creativity is essential in promoting the well-being and engagement of older adults.
Age should not limit one's ability to be creative and have fun; redefining the perception of aging and embracing childlike creativity can lead to a more fulfilling and joyful life.
Creative expression can be particularly beneficial for individuals with dementia, as it taps into the preserved abilities of the right side of the brain and allows for self-expression and connection.
Challenging ageist stereotypes and reframing society's view of aging can help promote the value and importance of creativity in older adults.
Intelligent risk-taking and trying new things, even if they seem unconventional, can lead to transformative experiences and personal growth.
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Episode breakdown:
0:04 Intro
0:24 Welcome to CC Young's Dr. Hayley & Brian
2:05 Spirit is Ageless (SiA) Art and Writing Contest
4:08 SiA Art Intake Process
7:26 Brian's First SiA Experience & Impactful Guest Speakers
9:55 This Year's Guest Speaker: Christopher J. Miller, Author of "The Spiritual Artist"
11:25 Process Over Product
12:58 An Artist Meet-and-Greet with Profound Impact
15:34 Creativity & Community
18:55 A Story of Art In Memoriam
20:45 Everyone Has a Story to Tell
22:13vMeaningful Outlets & Opportunities
24:10 Creating Safe Environments to Play
27:41 Intelligent Risk-Taking
31:09 Dementia & Creativity
32:54 A Story of Circle Art & Oranges
36:20 A Challenge to Redefine Creativity
37:05 "We have to create environments that spark creativity."
38:28 Childish vs. Childlike
39:17 Walking to Paris: "We don't have to be afraid to try something new."
43:57 How Creative Expression Impacts the Human Experience
48:36 "Act Your Age!"
49:41 Conclusion and Thank Yous
50:01 Outro
50:27 Outtakes
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Special thanks to Dr. Hayley Moseley and Brian Parman & CC Young!
This episode is made possible by LeadingAge Texas' Partners: LeadingAge Texas Health Plan, Inc., and Ziegler; along with LeadingAge Texas' Diamond Sponsors: Value First and Communities of Faith, RRG.
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Join the movement as we continue to elevate the conversation on aging by visiting upliftaging.org and following us on our socials @upliftaging.
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The Uplift Aging Podcast is a production of LeadingAge Texas.
Transcript - Ep. 005 (auto-generated)
Intro (00:04)
This is Uplift Aging. This is a challenge to embrace growing older, confront negative stereotypes, and better understand what may come with aging. I'm your host, Amanda Wiedenfeld. Together, let's uplift aging.
Amanda (00:24)
Welcome to Brian and Hayley from CC Young in Dallas, Texas. We are talking about ageless creativity. At CC Young, you all have the Spirit is Ageless Art and Writing Contest, which I think will flow very naturally into what we're trying to highlight today: the positives of aging when it comes to creativity. If you don't mind, take a few moments to introduce yourselves. Hayley, we'll start with you.
Hayley
Sure. Well, hello everyone. I am Dr. Hayley Mosley. I'm the Director of Education here at CC Young Senior Living. been with CC Young for a decade now. It's been a wonderful 10 years. I've been in senior care for most of my life. I'm an activity professional by trade. I'm a dementia trainer and I'm just so excited. I'm a long-time listener, first-time caller.
Amanda
Thank you so much for being here with us.
Brian (01:22)
And I'm Brian Parman. I'm the director of the Point and Pavilion here on campus. And I've been with the company for about nine years. But coming to this campus and senior living really from hospitality, a career doing meeting and event planning, specifically theme parties and entertainment for corporate groups for Disney and for Fortune 100 companies before coming here, and I’m really excited to be here today on your show.
Amanda
Well, thank you and I feel like we might need to have you on at another point to talk about your journey, your move into aging services from that I find that very exciting your story.
Brian
The intersection of my skill set and passion.
Amanda
If y'all don't mind talking a little bit about Spirit is Ageless, the event itself, the competition, it's been running for how many years? 24, I understand it?
Brian (02:15)
Yeah, I think we're heading into our 24th year. Definitely predates me and my time here on campus. And really, I think it predates our building here, The Point. It was started really as a way to connect people out in the community to an idea to create the center for learning and discovery and it was held in churches and it was open to anyone 55 or better. And really everyone who enters the show is actually in the show, which is kind of different than most juried competitions. But the show is juried and we keep that list of jurors anonymous and awards are given in first, second and third place in each of the art and writing categories. And we give an award away to our ageless creativity winner. And that is the oldest active person who's in the show. And that's a really special moment for the project itself. And the show itself is now morphed into a two-month run. And we conclude the program with an awards program at the very last day of the show when we always bring in an incredible speaker to thank those who entered and hopefully give back a little something to them and of course, a sense of pride as they are honored that day.
Hayley (03:31)
And it's really special because it's people from CC Young Community, from our Point membership, and then just from people who live in Dallas area. And even we've had people enter from across the country and send in their artwork. And for some of them, this is the first time they've ever seen something that they've created shown to the public. And so it was a really great experience to see them standing next to their artwork, taking pictures with their kids and grandkids. Just really celebrate that spark of creativity and to try something new.
Brian (04:08)
Yeah, we're about to embark on this year's call for art. And I think one of the most exciting things for me is not knowing who's coming to the party and what's going to show up. As a curator, we get to then intake the art, have the stories as they come in to present their material. We're now digital and online, so we have an idea of who's coming now a little bit more than we used to. But the actual day that the art arrives is always so exciting, and we really have to work to keep all the looky-loos out as we're trying to get stuff organized and categorized because we judge it right after the intake happens. But it's really a fun time.
Some of my favorite memories from this really come from the intake process, but then from the awards program itself, the opportunity to hear the stories behind the artwork, maybe why someone wrote a specific piece, or maybe the background about what they were thinking or the place that they were when they created their artwork.
Hayley (05:12)
And I love how it just brings us so much closer. For example, one of the writing pieces that I read was a book written by one of our residents who had grown up at Buckner Children's Home and talked about her experience. And I found myself just standing in the hallway reading her book because it was so engaging. And from reading her book, I now have such a different relationship with her and I'm so much closer to her because I understand a little more of where she's going. And when she wrote that, she wrote that to help herself process all the things that she went through in the pre-adoption process and the adoption process and all the things she experienced at the children's home.
Brian (05:58)
It makes me smile and think about like some of our residents who maybe discovered late in life that they have a knack or a love for quilting. One particular resident is a blue ribbon winner at the State Fair of Texas and was excited to exhibit here and was best in show. it really started conversations and it even started a quilting group because they find others that are interested in the same things they are.
We couldn't do this without the inspiration from Leading Age Texas.
Hayley:
Absolutely.
Brian:
And the work that they've done across the state to put on their art show. I don't doubt that in some way it may have inspired the Spirit is Ageless initially. Wasn't here then, but I got to think, you know, all great ideas are not new.
Hayley:
No… you’ve got to start somewhere.
Brian:
Yep. And we have partner organizations like the Dallas Area Fiber Artists, the Hand Weavers and Spinners Guild, the Dallas Bead Society, for example, and then several painting groups that we reach out to. Not only participate in the show and you know, we truly are living into our mission in this particular project because everyone at every stage in their game, like whether they're new to the particular craft that they're doing or they're professional level, they're in the show and it's just such a great time. The friendships and the people who come back each year make it so very special.
Brian (07:26)
The awards program, I wanted to mention… this is kind of fun. The very first SiA I came to was probably about 20 years ago, like when Denise Aver-Phillips was new here at CC Young and I came as a “voluntold” person, as a friend.
Amanda:
Also shout out to Denise if you're listening!
Brian:
And she's like, I need help. This is a really big event. So I came and a woman named Ebby Halliday, who is a local legend, maybe a state legend in real estate, a senior, was here as the keynote speaker. so there was a lot of excitement in the building. And I'm telling you that like every room in this place was full and they were simulcasting and people were thrilled to be in her grace. And quite a show there. They were, I mean, every inch of wall was covered and Ebby came and played her ukulele. And the vibe in the room, and the joy in that space was palpable. And I had no idea at the time that I would ever be working here. I mean, much less the director of the building that I was in. It's not lost on me that it's very special.
But as time's gone on, we've had everyone from the senior director of the Dallas Arts District here, Lily Cabatu Weiss, to a folk art expert named Jon Kay. He's from Tennessee. And I fully expected Jon to kind of come talk about kind of the kitschy folk art thing. But it really wasn't about that. His topic and his research and work was truly about the art and the stories behind the work of art that's shown.
Folks like Dr. Laura Evans, who came to us. She's an art historian. And her talk was really about how to view art and much and how important it is to share with the artist who has been so vulnerable to show their work or to share their words with everyone by giving them feedback. That was powerful. She herself shared the story of her mentor and hero and the journey that the two of them went on as they were creating a book themselves. it just gave permission to people in the room to, I think, let go of fear sometimes I think people try to make it too hard that they're like worried that they need to see something in particular. It's truly about expressing what it is that you see and how it makes you feel.
Which leads me to plug this year: I'm very excited to have Chris J. Miller, who wrote a book called The Spiritual Artist, and he's going to talk about how all of us are designed to create.
The story that got me about Chris was that he, as an artist, had been we're honing his craft for some and he developed a tremor that as a painter made it impossible for him to paint a straight line and seriously went through depression and thought it was over. mean, like, you know, it was really…
Hayley:
Grief.
Brian:
Yeah, like he was grieving and it's ironic that the jagged edge that he had, you know, consistently became the thing that was so unique to him it became a technique that people sought and saw and went after. And that's the thing that catapulted him to the status that he's at now. And that journey for him in walking through that difference in his life and his physical ability is exactly why the spirit is ageless.
Our writing contest is special to me and other programs like it because it's one example of many about how we can, no matter what our age or our abilities or physicalities are there going on, that we can still be joyful and we can still do it, we just do it differently and we celebrate that.
Hayley (11:25.036)
One of the things that when I teach activity directors and we talk about facilitating art classes, facilitating creative classes, so many times we get hung up on the, need it to be perfect. I needed to look good. So I'll ask a resident person in our community, hey, let's do this painting together. And oh, no, it's not gonna look the way I want it to. It's not gonna be good. Well, the thing is it may never look like the picture in your head, but what's really is not the product you create, but the process that you went to go through it.
When we look at the process over the product is when we really start to grow. That's the old adage, it's not the destination, it's the journey. And even though the destination may be this beautiful work of art, where the connection really comes in, where a person's identity is built, is during that process. And it's so great that we can art and other creative outlets to help us process our journey.
I mentioned the book that the person wrote to learn more about her experience. We have such a high rate of trauma, research says like 83% of adults have been through a trauma experience. What a great way to be able to work through that creatively and to turn all that into something positive just like Chris Miller did with his tremor, turning that into something positive.
Brian (12:58)
You're reminding me that like just a few months back: we have a monthly art show here on campus at two galleries. So every month there's a different artist that comes through and there's always an opportunity to meet that artist and ask some questions, celebrate them. But that particular day was pretty special on a lot of levels. This person came to our campus and, it was our first trans artist here at CC Young. And big deal. But even bigger as he told his story that it started with, I'm a veteran. I was wounded in action. I had to be honorably discharged. I've been through so much pain. I can't sit sometimes and it's very difficult for me, a lot of pain from a shrapnel injury. And I suffer from PTSD and believe it or not, social anxiety.
And within the first sentence of like, I'm a veteran, I suffer from chronic pain and I have social anxiety, but I'm here. And the work, I'm a self-trained artist. I didn't go to school, but the work that I do helps me to heal and to express everything that's going on inside of me. The permission that happened that day in a conversation of a meet-the-artist, which, know, typically it's always a lovely time. You know, you get to meet that person and maybe ask why, how do you get your inspiration and all the questions that people ask all the time. But this particular day, there was a paradigm shift; silence in the room. And there was a knowing because there were vets in the room. There were people who all could understand chronic pain. There were definitely folks who got anxiety and people got real and it was a fascinating time. And even as the artist questioned themself by saying, you know, I'm not trained, you know, or I don't have a degree. Everyone in that room was like affirming you are an artist.
Hayley:
Self-taught, right?
Brian:
Self-taught. And like, it was just amazing. And from that point on, it sort of really, things have catapulted. People who spoke up have gotten engaged in the art show. It was a healing thing.
Amanda:
That's beautiful.
Brian:
And I couldn't have predicted that that was going to happen, but it happened. It was beautiful.
Amanda (15:34)
Everything that you've said so far, both of you, what I'm getting from it so much is the connection between creativity and community and just that innate humanness in creativity that is so palpable when viewing a piece of art or reading a piece of literature. Like you were saying, Dr. Mosley, the concept of working through life within that medium. And how beautiful is it that y'all are able to at CC Young offer multiple shows?
Brian:
Yeah, there's a different show every month. There are two annual, three annual shows. We have our annual writing art and writing contest. We each year have a veterans display that is of all of our residents who have served in the military and that are living. And then there's even a wall of those who might be have a surviving spouse here. And then there's a children's art show that brings an intergenerational component to campus. The rest of the time, it's either a resident art show or local artist. It could be of any age, but primarily it tends to be people 55 or better.
Hayley:
Didn't we have one from a teenager at point?
Brian:
We did, we did.
Hayley:
She was very, very talented. And so it was a great opportunity for intergenerational, for our residents who are 55 and better to be encouraging her in the start of her career and for her to be able to connect to our residents who are artists, who are able to motivate, encourage, and inspire her as well.
Brian (17:14)
Yeah, there was a resident… I think back to like how this impacts the residents. And I often refer to the area outside of our rehab in the Vista as the “super highway” for folks. they'll be coming in and out of rehab or heading to the pool and they'll notice the art that's on the wall. And I remember the first show that we put up, I was taking it down and there was like people freaking out that art was being stolen, wondering where we're going with it. Concerned that it wouldn't be coming back, but we were just getting ready to put the next one up. But one afternoon I happened to be on the floor in that area and I came across a woman who was standing in the gallery by herself, hand on her hip, looking at this painting of a woman on the beach. And I had to stop and ask. And I was like, what are you doing? And she's like, that's me. That's me in the picture. And so I snapped a picture of her and the picture of the woman on the beach. She hadn't created it… but in her mind, she was reminiscing and thinking back to a time that was really special to her.
And, you know, I say it jokingly, but I mean it seriously that people forget about the hitch in their getup. One of the best things about having an office that's in a fishbowl like I do is that we get to hear the comments from the peanut gallery about the art and for the residents. And it's fun. mean, sometimes, you know, I'll hear.
I could do better than that. Or I'll hear some really, really poignant stuff about how beautiful some work is. And it's just kind fun to be a fly on the wall.
Definitely, art can provoke and evoke some reactions from people.
Brian (18:55)
There was one resident who was in our rehab area this past year who enjoyed painting very much and was actively doing it. He was self-taught, a retired minister. He came down to the art gallery more than once watching us work in the gallery space and felt called and came to see me. He was in a wheelchair, had his daughter bring him and he's like, I use my fingers to paint and I do these paintings and I really want you to see my work. And they brought me a stack of pieces and he's like, I just, I've never had a show before and I really hope that you'll give me a chance.
And so we were in the process of lining up shows for next year and we were able to work him in. And unfortunately he didn't make it to see that show, but it just happened recently. And it was just incredibly powerful, the color and the images, imagery that he had selected and just how poignant and wonderful it was for his family to experience that.
Amanda:
Aww, I love it.
Brian:
We had a video of him and his work. And, you know, even from the video, he just, you know, you just had to know him. He was somebody who was not going to take no, he had just such a spirit, and you know, making a difference with his work to help people to come to know the Lord that he knew.
Hayley (20:08)
And it was a great opportunity for healing for the family as well. Sure. You think about the legacy that he's leaving behind and that memory of having that art show even after he was gone is a memory they're always going to have. And they get to got to celebrate him again through his art. Anytime we're creating anything like, that will stay when you write a book, when you write words, when you put a poem together, you make a video, all these different creative things. They will live long past us.
Brian (20:45)
And it's exciting when you can experience something and that person's still with us. I think back to our veterans display and it's really incredible when you get to see the things and the places that people have lived. And so often we don't learn about those things because we're in a pretty busy place with a lot of, know, 457 residents. It's almost impossible to know everyone. And it's like, wow, when you're reading someone's obituary, you know, you're like, wow, how did I not know that?
Hayley:
That's the worst feeling when you learn something new from the obituary.
Brian:
Right, right, right. But in our roles, we know everyone has a story to tell and we have an opportunity to impact helping them to tell that story, whether it's, you know, doing that through visual art or a writing craft or even doing it through a talk show like our our Table Talk event that we use on channel 81 here at our TV station.
Hayley:
And then creativity doesn't stop with art. I mean, we think about gardening. Gardening is a chance to be creative. We were very fortunate. We have a wonderful garden here at CC Young.
Brian:
You know, whatever helps people to get lost in something else, to get out of themselves or whatever might be that they're dealing with. I mean, we're all facing something, whether it's, you know, the loss of a loved one or maybe the move, you know, a move to a place like this and downsizing. Grief can be affecting us in any number of ways and art can help you through transitions.
Hayley (22:13)
Yeah. So when we look at, look at aging as a whole, not just people in senior living, but… you know, like I'm in middle age, married bunch of kids. I'm right in the smack dab of motherhood and parenting. And I've got so many things going on that I need to find time to create and to process. But as we get older and our roles start to shift when my life no longer centers around my nine-to-five and getting the kids to soccer and taekwondo and theater practice. At that time, the world seems to open up and you decide, have to decide what you're gonna do with it. That leisure time is so important. And nobody looks back and says, I wish I watched more TV. I wish I spent more time on TikTok. No one says that. It's all, I want to connect with others. I want to create. I'm gonna leave something behind. I want to spend more time with people. So at that time, that's when we need to be looking for these outlets, looking for opportunities.
Which I'm so glad that the Point has all these opportunities for seniors. We have a resident on campus here who in her day-to-day life, her nine-to-five, she was working for a large corporation. She was in the corporate world at a time when women weren't always in the corporate world. And so when she moved into CC Young, she found, what am I gonna do with myself? I don't have all these responsibilities that I'm used to having. So she decided to take an art class. Let's just see what that's like. And she actually won an award at one of the LeadingAge art shows.
Amanda:
Fabulous.
Hayley:
Yeah, so it was a great opportunity for her to really find new meaning and to discover a new identity that she had never really had the opportunity to pursue.
Brian (24:10.072)
Creativity: you can look at it lot of ways. I mean, I think about it in the ways that we've talked about, but I also think about it in the way that we as healthcare professionals and activity professionals think about our work.
Creating an environment that is a safe place for people to feel as an adult, they're able to play and not fear failure and just be okay with going through the process, as you said you know, setting the stage for that, like setting a table is, is creating a vibe to elevate whatever an experience is. If it's, you know, a party to celebrate the Olympics, you know, going through all the iterations to think of the little things to make it feel special. If that's a torch run video, if that's you know, wearing a silly toga or
Hayley:
As you did last week.
Brian:
I did last week. Yeah, as we do.
Amanda:
I saw a sneak peek of the video of the torch video at conference and I loved it.
Brian:
Well, but that's where creativity comes into play to make this place and in life just more fun. And I have to give Dr. Hayley props in that transitioning from life enrichment director and her mad skills at writing songs and scripting a show and now she can add, you know, film credits to her belt. She's she's got some amazing skills that would rival Steven Spielberg, but has taken taken the education process for the staff and taken some things that might be typically dry and made them fun, engaging, allowed people permission to ask questions, to be silly. But that spills over even to our residents and and helping them learn things about the aging process.
You know, we, had to demonstrate, in words and statistics, and even in some physical stunts, what the aging process does to people as we get older, you lose over 50% of your muscle mass and your ability to move if you don't, if you don't stay active. And what does that look like? And so we had someone jump up on someone else's back to demonstrate… wow, this is like having a grown person on your back. And if you had to like get up from a sitting position, that would be a heck of a lot harder. And even as you walk, you start to walk leaning forward and you might have to like, you might have balance issues. And so it really kind of drove home visually from a stat from a physical, you know, stunt. But of course, one of our colleagues, Aaron Schmidt, had to go next level when we did this the third time, you know, for an in-service with residents and he had a rubber chicken that squeaks. So when he jumped up on the back, you know, it was just kind of fun… but it just gave people permission to laugh at something that might be frightening and helped to break down some of the stigma that still exists even in our environment. We've done, we've taken great strides at just trying to create environments where people can have moments of joy, but to bring people from all levels of care, all levels of campus together for happy hours, for workshops, for celebrations, and just giving people tools so that they can know they can do it, but they can just do it differently and live better and longer.
Hayley:
Absolutely. And as leaders in the senior community, we have to give people permission to have fun. We have to create those environments that are open and have to invest time and money into saying yes. Ensign Group (Services) has a part of their mission statement that I love is “Intelligent Risk-Taking.” Investing in creativity and trying something new and off the wall is intelligent risk-taking.
Back in 2016, I think it was, Aaron, who you just mentioned, came to me and said, hey, I want to throw pumpkins off the roof. Of course, our first reaction was no we certainly can't go throw pumpkins off the roof but I took a step back and said okay let's think about this we have a very lovely balcony area and so we had our first annual where we got up on the balcony and threw pumpkins off the balcony and let them explode.
It started as an event in our memory support with our residents who've had Alzheimer's disease and dementia, and it's grown to a campus-wide staff versus staff, staff-and-resident interaction. And even through COVID, we continue that pumpkin-chunking tradition.
If we had just said, no, we can't do it from the very beginning, how much joy we would have missed. And it's such an opportunity for people to get out of their comfort zone.
For example, in the first years we did it, I had a resident who that recently moved into our memory support community who was not too happy with her husband at the time for quote-unquote leaving her there. And so she went and found a Sharpie and she drew her husband's face on the pumpkin and held it over her head, take that Jerry, and threw it off. And she cackled and laughed and just had a huge time, but for her, even with dementia, she was able to release that anger, that anxiety and she became more of a part of our community because we did that together. We all threw pumpkins off together. We all cheered for her as she let her anger go. It was really just a beautiful experience.
And so we can't, we can't deny opportunities for creativity. We, and even as leadership, we can't sacrifice being silly for the sake of professionalism. If I always dressed with the suit and tie and walked around with a stern look on my face like a boss should.
Brian:
Don't talk about me like I'm not here.
Hayley:
You were the one in the show the last week.
Brian:
Right.
Hayley:
You know, if I did I would have a very different perception. People wouldn't feel comfortable around me. People wouldn't feel comfortable to talk to me and to come to me when there's a problem. By allowing myself to be a little silly, I'm opening that door for residents, for team members, for family members to connect with me. And so it's okay to be creative. It's okay to do something silly in an in-service. It's okay to be the one in the dunking booth.
Brian:
Or to poke fun at yourself in a talent show… for you know, working out.
Hayley:
Yes, check our YouTube page for that.
Amanda (31:09)
Is there anything more that you can kind of share with us about what you've seen or experienced within the space of dementia and creativity?
Hayley:
So Alzheimer's disease specifically works with the brain starts to basically die and the left side of the brain starts to die first. And that's where language is formed. Language, open-ended questions, meeting needs. Yet the right side remains strong longer. And so when a person's words have failed them, creativity is still there. Music is still there. Imagination is still there. And if we never give them an opportunity to engage with that part of their brain, then that part of their brain is just going to die along with it. And so it is necessary that we allow people with dementia to find ways to be creative. We may have to do some adaptations.
One of the things that happens with dementia is person can't necessarily initiate the task. So if you give them paints and a blank piece of paper, they may not be able to do anything with it. They may just sit and stare at it. You kind of have to help them, give them an outline of a face or an outline of a few flowers. Or you start painting on the paper and have them finish it. Having that little bit of support can help them take step two when they can't do step one. And when it comes to dementia, again, the process is so much more important than the product.
Hayley (32:54)
One of my favorite examples, one of my favorite days as an activity professional, we were doing what I call the circle art. And so we had cut hundreds of circles in all different sizes and all different colors out of construction paper. And each resident had a piece of construction paper and a glue stick and some markers and people were just putting things together. had some lovely caterpillars and some little home scene. And so people just stuck them on there.
We had one gentleman who put four in a line on his paper and he wrote one initial for his name in each J O H N. So we asked, wow, that's very linear. Were you a mechanic or an engineer or something? Yeah, yeah, I was an architect because he's very structural, very organized. Things go in order.
Another lady was sitting there with nothing on her table, nothing on her paper. She couldn't initiate. So I walked up and we start talking to her. We're talking about the circles and moving them around. And she picks up an orange one and tells it her hand. Ooh, I say an orange. that looks like it might be a nice juicy orange. That would be a nice snack for today. I love to get some fresh squeezed orange juice and talking about oranges, the fruit. And she pops up, well, you know, me and my girlfriend went and picked oranges one summer. Tell me about that. I jumped right on it. And she starts telling us how she and her girlfriend hitchhiked from Texas to Florida to go pick oranges at one summer and came back home and never even told her family that they had done it. And her children didn't even know this story. She is recounting all of this. So Brian mentioned earlier about how creativity and art can bring back a memory. And this orange had become so real as she's recounting the story of her youth. My partner who worked with me was listening to us and she had picked up the orange circle and she squeezed it in her hand and we all jumped and went, for a moment there, we expected orange juice to squeeze out of that piece of construction paper. And at the end of that activity, the woman still had absolutely nothing glued to her piece of paper. There was no product, but I guarantee you she had the most meaningful experience of anyone else in that room because she was able to connect to her identity. It's not the product; it's the process.
Amanda:
God, that's so beautiful. I'm tearing up. It is so beautiful. And especially, I'm just thinking of you and that, like on that day, you being the activity professional, you know, I feel like many will go into that sort of setting with an expectation of having the product or having that outcome or a barometer of like the success of that activity that you worked so hard cutting out how many hundreds of circles and all the things and to just have that one circle end up being squished like an orange. I don't know, that is just such a beautiful story about expectations not being met, but that is such a beautiful experience life for both that resident and for you.
Hayley:
Thank you. And so I want to challenge everyone to redefine creativity, redefine art. It's not about winning the art show. It's not about having a claim and being applauded. It's about developing yourself. It's about growing closer to others. It's about…
Brian:
… being curious.
Hayley:
Ooh I love that. Forming your identity, finding meaning and purpose. Everybody wants to be valued and enriched and creativity does just that.
Amanda (37:05)
About changing perceptions and reframing things like creativity. One of the goals of this podcast, we're really trying to reframe how people think about aging. So I want to ask you in terms of creativity, in terms of this art competition that you all have at CC Young, but also just from your background in activities, how can we as a field better educate the public, educate our listeners about creative expression among older adults?
Hayley:
We have to create environments that spark creativity.
If everything is pristine, we're not gonna splatter paint and mess it up. As a leader in senior care, it saddens me when you go into a community for long-term and every single place feels like a hotel, because I would never splatter paint in a hotel, but I have definitely splatter painted in my living room. Because it's my living room. Of course I cleaned it up.
So I think that we do need to not get so hung up on how beautiful everything looks that we forget that everything has to be functional too. And if we want creativity to happen, we need to be okay with it.
Hayley:
There's a difference between being childish and being childlike. There are lots of arts and crafts that I see or crafts that I see being done that are childish. We're better than that. But it's okay to do things that are childlike.
So if you go into a room of kindergarten first graders and you ask who in here is an artist, pretty much all of them are going to raise their hand. Walk into a group of adults and ask them who is an artist and you'll get just a handful.
Amanda:
Sure.
Hayley: What changed? Our perception. And so I'm encouraging people, I encourage people to not be afraid to be childlike. Raise your hand. Yes, I'm an artist. It's not good. It doesn't have to be good. I'm expressing myself.
Brian (39:16)
It's true. And it’s also just reinforcing and encouraging each other. We just launched our wellness challenge for the year and we're going to focus on five of the seven pillars of wellness. And we're bringing the other components, not just the physical component that we did last year, but the other components to play and giving people an opportunity to on their own, design their menu, track the activities that they're doing, and work towards a goal over the five weeks to then celebrate our Olympic challenge and with our Greek party at the end of the summer.
One piece of this puzzle has just been phenomenal. And it's been an idea that just sort of spun out from like, can we get people moving? And it started with, I don't know how you heard about the Step Up app from Juliette Fowler…?
Hayley:
Yes, Juliette Fowler suggested this app called Step Up Pedometer. It's an absolutely free app where everyone was sitting around the lunch tables challenging each other. I have more than Tommy. I only need 500 more steps. I'll pass Bill and trying to figure out how what they can go the long way back to their offices to beat somebody. And I said, I want that. I want that culture. I love what they're doing.
Brian:
We meet every week. And as a team, we invest two hours of our life together to think about the calendar for the next year. And we're thinking about specific events. We're talking about the activities we're doing. We're trying to think about our articles. Anything and everything and we're often brainstorming or I like to call it spitballing what we're doing. And so we were thinking about how do we get people moving and somebody said, well, I think it was you that talked about climbing the Eiffel Tower.
Hayley:
Actually, it was our new director of wellness, Eric Allen, who said, hey, well, know, with the Olympics being in Paris this year, what about climbing the Eiffel Tower? And he looked up some stats for us and then we found out how steps it was to the Eiffel Tower. There are nine million plus steps from Dallas to the Eiffel Tower. Over nine million steps. I don't have it in front of me. We challenged ourselves. Wouldn't it be crazy if we as a community could walk to the Eiffel Tower and start counting our steps to see if we can do it?
Brian:
So literally we are walking to Paris, France, climbing the Eiffel Tower, going back down and walking home. And we figured now, after doing a little pilot before this program launched, we're probably going to do that a few times. It's crazy.
Hayley:
Yeah, yeah. Just our staff alone has already walked halfway there before the challenge even started. So we're going to have to adjust our goals a little bit.
Brian:
But the residents have jumped on board. The staff has jumped on board. The fact that we're doing both the residents and staff together, we’re building a team spirit. We've encouraged people to high-five one another. That's like part of the whole social component of wellness. I'm super stoked at the way that people have embraced this.
And we even introduced Reiki, energy work and we did laughter yoga for mindful Mondays. Tracking Tuesdays is all about walking and then workout Wednesdays. We just had a staff workout yesterday after work. It was interesting to go through some classes that are new for our residents in an abbreviated format, like in about 45 minutes. I went home exhausted and fell asleep on the couch. Thirsty Thursdays.
Hayley:
Yes, I have my water.
Brian:
And then we're doing foodie Fridays. And so people kind of develop their own program. We've used creativity and imagery, the videos. We have got Olympic flags all over campus. We've got people moving. Everyone is chatting up everyone else about, wow, Bill, how do you have 20,000 steps? And it's encouraging them to actually use a QR code.
And if they did nothing else and we didn't make it to anywhere but Paris, Texas, it would be a win. And that was really the messaging and all of this.
Hayley:
We don't have to be afraid to try something new.
Brian:
Yeah. It's taking that safe space concept that started play that happened that built the thing, know, it's helping people find their thing.
Hayley:
And if you want to participate in our Spirit is Ageless Art competition, you can do that by looking us up on ccyoung.org and our intake will take place on the week of August 20th. All you have to be is 55 or better. It's free to enter. And we would love to have you participate.
Amanda (43:57)
All right, my last question for y'all. Both of you have shared so many stories, but is there kind of one hallmark moment that really was like an aha moment about how creative expression, creativity in life, really, impacts the human experience?
Brian:
I think back to the art shows that happened here, and there was a resident art show that took place after we had a state fair event, and I have talked about it at LeadingAge before. But we did a butter sculpture competition. We gave six pounds of butter to residents and they said, here, sculpt something, we'll do a contest since we couldn't do the state fair at the time for real because of COVID. And I met this resident who just blew us all away when she came down with the bust of her neighbor on a plate. mean, was just, the detail was amazing. But I'm like, okay, I've taken your temperature. I had no idea that you could do this. You're quite an artist.
So, that turned into a really long conversation, but she had been a fine art teacher, but really had not done much in the way of sculpture before. And, you know, we just got to talking and as always happens, if you talk to one of us long enough, we'll ask you to do something. And I was like, wow, have you ever thought about having a show? And she's like, I've never had one. And so that turned into, you know, probably a six-month journey as we waited to have this particular art show.
And sometimes, you know, I think that it's easy to just look at artists from off-campus and know that they're going to bring their show and they're going to curate it and it's going to be beautiful and you know that it's going to be easy for you. It's not always easy when you're dealing with a person who's like doing something for the first time. There's a lot of questions. There's a lot of investment. And if I'm really honest through this process, it was a little bit hard at times for me. I struggled.
When we got to the actual day of the art show, when we got through the installation process, it was incredible. And we stood in the hallway and she looked at me and said, Brian, you know, this is my life here in the hallway. I have never seen all these pieces together at one time. For me, that was the why. It was also a wake-up call to remember that it's not about me… and usually, when something's difficult, it's going to be worth it. It was just, it was so priceless. It's about how each of us have a story to tell.
Hayley (46:30.286)
What brought to mind me is my great -grandfather. My great -grandfather was in World War II at Iwo Jima. He was in the Seabees. Many, many, many years ago before I was even thought of. He was at a garage sale and he bought himself a roll of wallpaper for 50 cents. And he was excited about this roll of wallpaper. Well, he gets home and he unrolls his wallpaper and there is a painting rolled up inside the wallpaper.
And he was so proud of the painting that he had found that it was just somehow it was just meant to be. And so he hung that painting on the wall behind his recliner, his living room, and it hung there all the way through grandmother's early adulthood through the birth of my dad. And it was still hiding there when I came around and it had always been there.
He passed away in ‘97 and then after his wife passed away, my grandmother ended up with a painting. Well, she has recently downsized and now that painting hangs in my hallway. And every time I see that painting, it's not a terribly attractive painting. There's really nothing special about it. It's kind of gloomy looking. But it brings me back to my great-grandfather and remember the spirited man that he was. And I feel so connected to my family and my past by knowing that I have this beautiful, to me, painting. And we've looked for the artist and I've even hopped on some groups to say, know, recognizes it. And we're all pretty convinced that it's just somebody, as someone eloquently put it, “they ‘Bob Ross-ed’ it.” They just followed along with Bob Ross and made this painting. So it's nobody famous. It's nothing. It's not worth anything, but it is priceless to me.
Amanda (48:32)
Is there anything else y'all want to share before we hop off?
Brian:
You know, I just wanted to say the phrase “act your age.” We're trying to flip that statement and challenge people to be like, OK, well, what am I supposed to act like at my age? We want to be playful and we want to challenge other people to be playful in their thinking and creative and turn that on a dime and stop ageism.
Hayley:
Yes, we say it very tongue-in-cheek. Act your age. Meaning. Your age is nothing. Your age is just a number. You're only as old as you feel, right? I think Nicole said that in a previous talk cast. There is nothing that's out of bounds. There's no reason why you can't try something new. Give yourself permission to play and be silly. So come on, your age.
Amanda:
Thank you for that permission. I feel like I needed to hear that. And I hope some of our listeners are just waiting for permission to come from somewhere that it's okay to play. It's okay to just sort of sandbox through life a little bit. We don't have to be so serious all the time.
Amanda (49:41)
Well, thank you both so much. And thank you, of course, to CC Young for all the work that you all are doing, and especially at The Point. I'll definitely include some links in the show notes for any listeners out there, 55 or better, who want to enter into the competition. We'll have a link for that as well.
Brian:
Thanks for allowing us to be here.
Outro:
Thanks for tuning in to Uplift Aging, a production of Leading Age Texas. Check out this episode's show notes for more about Leading Age Texas, today's guests, and the Uplift Aging movement. Until next time, join us on socials at Uplift Aging as we continue to elevate the conversation on aging.
Outtakes (50:28.098)
Brian:
Make a new friend, you know?
Hayley:
Throw a pumpkin off the roof.
Brian:
Say hello, go sit down and not worry about what someone's gonna think.