On Thursday July 28th, Carolyn offered her presentation entitled “ Channeling your Thoughts through Art” 

 Carolyn began by sharing her story about her hospital stay of some years ago. During the time leading up to her stay in the hospital, she had trouble trusting others and was dealing with a lot of paranoia. It was during this time that she didn’t want to see anyone.  Finally with some encouragement from her daughter, she was admitted to the hospital for some help. It was during her stay in the hospital that her daughter brought Carolyn some art supplies, to help her pass the time. 

     During her stay in the hospital, Carolyn experimented with her art talents, and became very inspired. It was during this time that Carolyn’s imagination would also inspire her to create art. She had discovered that we need to look for things we might enjoy. While in the hospital, Carolyn came to the conclusion that most people are really not lazy, that they are probably just uninspired. 

     Carolyn’s co-presenter for the evening, Don, shared with us a little information about the infamous phrase “ right brain vs. left brain “ He shared that usually right brained may be people who use their imagination more, and tend to be more creative and involved in the arts. Whereas left brained people may be more analytical and logical, and interested in the facts. Don shared that the left side of our brain controls the right side of our body, and the right side of our brain controls the left side of our body. Don said that ideally a person would want to be somewhere in the middle, and occupy both sides of our brain.  He then demonstrated by playing us some music. First the “left side” by playing exactly what was on the sheet of music, using math and language skills. He then played the exact same song after engaging the creative “right brain”. This made a huge difference as the music became much more musical and less mechanical. The bottom line to what Don was telling us is by playing music, both sides of our brains are engaged, providing a great escape from living in our heads!

     Carolyn shared that during this hospital stay, she felt that her treatment was working, as she was beginning to trust people again. Carolyn said that the art that she produced during her hospital stay gradually changed during that time, and she became more creative. She felt that being in the hospital was a good option, as she learned different ways to cope. Eventually Carolyn became very grateful and humble for her hospital stay. 

     Carolyn did share with us many of her art pieces that she created during her hospital stay. Carolyn is a very talented artist indeed!  I’m grateful that she so kindly shared her artwork with us.