Yesterday, Jane, the gifted artist living in the Mansion’s Memory Care Unit, did it again – she painted a striking and unique interpretation of the Gingerbread Man. The aides are getting used to it.

For some time now, she’s dazzled Activity Directors Paryese Bates Becker and Kim Dooley; they kept urging me to look. I did, and I was wowed.  So was Maria. Something about painting brings up a creative spark in Jane, and it is bright.

Jane comes to my meditation class often, and I’m told she paints every morning and loves every minute of it. I communicate well with Jane, although usually not in words. At the Mansion, I’ve learned there are many ways to communicate with the memory impaired.

When she likes something I’m saying, she smiles or nods. I always feel she is listening to me and understanding me.

Today, I suggested to Kim that we host a pop-up art show for Jane at the Mansion. We’ll gather a collection of her works and invite Mansion residents and their families to come. We may reach out to some local artists to come also.

She loved the idea and will get back to me with a date in mind. God said in the Kabbalah that the creatives spark lives in all of us, some of us find it, and others can’t or won’t. Jane has found hers.

Her work needs to be seen.