Chocolate Rain - Review - 100 Ideas for a Creative Approach to Activities in Dementia Care

Welcome to the blog today.  I am reviewing the book called Chocolate Rain - 100 Ideas for a Creative Approach to Activities in Dementia Care.  I found the book to be a great resource and definitely one that you should have on your bookshelf, and be your 'go-to' resource.  I will be updating with the video if you would like to see the chapters and get a feel for the book.

As well as a key resource the book also encourages you to create a list of your own activities and the chapters help you in achieving this.  You don't have to be actively creative to develop the ideas in this book, but high chances are you will end up creative and that's great!

Check out the podcast episode where I talk about the book and share some of my own experience being an artist and carer and developing art workshops and also looking at the impact that art and creativity has on our health and well-being.

 The book is called Chocolate Rain

The book is filled with some really great tips and ideas, and gets you thinking about the things you are doing and how you can be more mindful with someone who may be at varying stages of the disease.  The arts have always played a key role in impacting on healthcare situations in the home or in a care setting, and there are a variety of organisations that work with artists from a variety of disciplines to deliver sessions - from the arts to music, dance, drama and more.

Check out the Arts and Health NHS Network for information on activities and organisations working in the field.  You are welcome to join, it is a FREE resource and if you have any activities or want to talk about your work you are welcome to send me the information and I will see that it gets uploaded.  You can create your own profile on the network and interact with other organisations and individuals working in and around the NHS.

Inspirational Shorts - Encouraging words for your week - Diversity

Welcome to the blog.  On my podcast today, while slightly late I posted an episode of Inspirational Shorts with the title Diversity, and also included some encouragement to help you go about your coming week.  We all need some encouragement from time to time, reminders of how far we have come, how precious we are and not to give up on ourselves.  I hope this short recording serves as the encouragement that comes just at the right time for you.

The title Diversity is a word 'just in time' or 'for this particular time' and it is for you to think about what that word means to you, the things that you are doing, does it remind you to do something, change something.  Does the word speak to your personal life or business life or both.  Take the encouraging words below as a reminder, and every now and then over the course of the week give yourself a reminder as you listen to the recording.

You are precious, a gift, you touch the heart of many. So many miracles have come from you - through your smile your warmth, your heart. Keep believing, patience is the key that comes in many forms and you hold the key to unlock the many blessings that are waiting for you. Everything will come together for good at the right time

Do remember to check out some of the links on the blog, check out my YouTube channel for encouraging videos to assist you in your creative journey.

Stay blessed and be a blessing.

The Print Exhibition 2019

The Print 2019 Exhibition opened at the Grove Gallery, Limegrove Lifestyle Centre.

Met up with some Old Friends and connected with some new ones, both Artists and appreciators of art.  I feel that we are all creative and use it in different ways whether we see in numbers, colours, patterns and every thing else. 

I spoke to an economist on the night who talked about understanding the mind of an artist and their inspiration to create - I was sharing that the way I often work is to lay down colours and see what forms and figures emerge - I thought everyone saw the shapes.  

How do you create, do you relate to seeing shapes, forms and patterns in your work?

The young man said he had never experienced looking at a design or pattern and seeing figures but that he loved numbers and saw the patterns in numbers, that there for me speaks of the way each of us use creativity to express in some way.

Some lovely work on display and it is always great to meet new artists and see how they are motivated to create.

Let me know if you get to attend the Print Exhibition, it is on until 17th August, also check out some of the other videos on Exhibitions in Barbados on my YouTube Channel.

If you are interested in taking a digital creative course Bluprint have an offer of 30 Days of Classes for $1

Stay blessed and be a blessing!

Inspirational Shorts - Authenticity

Welcome to this week's Friday Podcast - Episode 113.

Authenticity 

The doors are opening, are you ready to walk through? The time is coming - you have put in the hard work, you stayed up late and got up early, you made the sacrifices and carried on making your mark despite the circumstances. The time has come for you to look back at where you came from, look at all your achievements, no matter how small, you have come a long way!  Be proud of what you have achieved, be proud of your authenticity.

*  *  *

I thought I would give you an insight for the weekends, and prepare you for Mondays.  These Friday podcasts will be typically under 3 minutes, and just a pit stop.

Each Friday I share with you an insight or revelation and I hope that It will bless you as it blesses me.  Today it is to encourage you to go out and do some exercise, in whatever way you want to do it. have a journal or art journal handy, so that you can either make notes or create something from what inspires you. 

You can check me out on the following platforms,

Amanda Trought on Social Media (Realityarts):

www.youtube.com/amandatrought 

www.twitter.com/Realityarts 

www.instagram.com/realityarts/ 

www.facebook.com/realityartss/