Stroke victim John wins national art acclaim

Stroke victim John Trower is exhibiting his artwork in Bluebells Florist and Tea Room in Downham Market. Pictured with John is Stroke support volunteer Tracie Gotheridge.

Published on Tuesday 23 August 2011 10:38

AMATEUR dramatics enthusiast John Trower was left without speech and with no use in his right arm following a stroke which thrust him into a world of frustration.
His successful business as a driving instructor came to an immediate end, his driving licence was withdrawn and, unable to speak for the next two years, his outlook seemed bleak.
Determined to pick up the pieces, John began using his left arm, making doodles and drawings before venturing into water colours – and now his efforts have won him a national award and an exhibition.
There was a huge cheer for John as he stepped forward to receive the Susie Hulks Memorial Award at a Stroke Association awards evening at Claridges Hotel, in London.
He said: “I used to be so mobile. I had my own business as a driving instructor and I’d also teach people drama and we’d put on plays.

“You would not believe it to see me now, although there have been improvements.
“My speech, although very stilted, has gradually come back – but it takes so long to get the words the right way round in my head before I can even think about saying them,” said John, who now lives at Southfields, Downham, and is a regular member of the No 13 art group which meets at the Conservative Club....... http://bit.ly/pHrGkz

Community hub helps make growing old an art

Retired teacher, Libby Creber, dedicated her MA in counselling dissertation to her late mother's desire to make growing old an art. From this has come a unique, social life-line for carers and those they care for at Wymondham's Cup of Caring. Sandie Shirley reports.

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Libby knows the heartache and hard-won understanding that comes while caring for two elderly family members. One suffered from senility and a lack of mobility and the other from a loss of coherent language, caused by a stroke. Her empathy and understanding of others was also enlarged during her six case-studies of carers for the http://bit.ly/o0Qjeh elderly during her recent UEA degree. ......

 

A journey through the brain: Artist uses neuroscience in her work

SALT LAKE CITY — When artist Amy Caron enters a room, you can't help but have your attention drawn to her. She's been wearing the same wedding dress every day for the past year as an art project.
What began as a steel white, satin, wedding dress has degraded over time, becoming dark and torn.
"I feel like I'm making a textile sculpture where the main ingredient is time," she said, adding it is a project making a statement about commitment and perseverance.

See all 10 photos | Click to enlarge

Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Artist Amy Caron walks into Waves of Mu, her two-room show about mirror neurons, at the University of Utah Film and Media Arts Building on Wednesday, Sep. 14, 2011. She has worked with researchers at the University of Utah Neuroscience Center to construct an artistic look at how the human brain works.

"As an artist, I really like to push boundaries," she said, shifting in her tattered dress.
Caron describes herself as an artist who thrives on taking on new challenges. After coming to Utah to be an aerial ski jumper for the U.S. Freestyle Ski team, she enrolled at the University of Utah to earn a bachelor's degree in dance. She then discovered art.
Eager to join a New York art program that encouraged artists to team up with professionals in other areas, Caron entered an ambitious proposal: doing an art exhibit exploring the human brain. She said the idea came to her while watching a BBC program about neuroscientist Dr. V.S. Ramachandran and his work on mirror neurons.
"I kind of just went crazy and cooked up this grand idea. I thought neuroscience sounded impressive, but I knew nothing about it," Caron said.
It took her a year of research, working with some of the world's top researchers in neuroscience from Harvard, University of California at San Diego and researchers in Italy. It took two more years to create the exhibit and write the roles performers play for each part of the brain......
http://bit.ly/q7q9vt

The short film “Aphasia,” which tells the true story of a North Carolina

Film screening
The short film “Aphasia,” which tells the true story of a North Carolina man who had a massive stroke at age 44, will be screened at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the East Carolina Heart Institute at East Carolina University, 115 Heart Drive. The movie stars Carl McIntyre of Laurinburg, an actor who had a stroke in 2005. As a result, McIntyre lives with aphasia, an acquired communication disorder that impairs a person's ability to process language but does not affect intelligence. Free. Visit www.aphasiathemovie.com. Contact Sherri Winslow at 744-6142 or email winslowsh@ecu.edu.

Brain-injured artists show life's reflections

BRAIN-INJURED ARTISTS SHOW LIFE'S REFLECTIONS

Sandra Madden of Douglas shows her color photo “Native Child.” She took the picture on a visit to Plimoth Plantation. (T&G Staff Photos/CHRISTINE PETERSON)

By Priyanka Dayal TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

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"Winter Calm" by Sandra Madden shows a field in the Blackstone Valley.
Enlarge photo

It's a simple scene: a baby nestled inside a pouch around his mother's belly, sleeping.

His eyes are softly closed, his head leaning against his mother.

It's a scene of calm, of tranquility, captured through Sandra Madden's camera lens. That feeling of peace is what Ms. Madden loves about the photo. That feeling of peace is something she was missing for a while after a bicycle accident nearly five years ago changed her life.

She was riding her bicycle near her home in Douglas when she lost control for a second. She fell off the bike and onto her back. more read...

National Aphasia Association: A Night At The Theater To See “Wings”

A few weeks ago in our Perspectives series we interviewed the Program Director of the Snyder Center for Aphasia Life Enhancement (SCALE) in Baltimore, Denise McCall, and the Technology Coordinator, Jes Porro. That story grew so rich that we set up an interview with Ellayne Ganzfried, Executive Director of the National Aphasia Association, which will appear in our next installment of Perspectives. In that interview, Ellayne was especially proud of her association’s work with Second Stage Theater in New York City, which has reprised the 1978 play “Wings,” written by Arthur Kopit. On Tuesday, November 2nd, Second Stage Theater and the NAA have teamed up for an evening of outreach and fundraising through the play.  Next.....