Hanging in my kitchen, I have a plastic butterfly that my mom painted at her adult day care center. I keep this little masterpiece around not just because it reminds me of my  mom, but it’s actually very well done, in my humble opinion. Mom knows how to choose her paints!

Of course,  it should be said that just because your mom or dad is living with dementia doesn’t mean they can’t create beautiful works of art—FYI, there’s still time to buy your holiday cards created by folks living with the disease—In fact, according to Dr. Arnold Bresky, a Southern California-based preventive gerontologist, using music and art can help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s.

“The brain works from numbers and patterns,” he says. “Art does that. I use the Michelangelo grid system, and we start from the basics. These people have no art training.”

As we age, he adds, “our creativity goes up, not down … During the creative process, you’re using parts of your brain that you haven’t used before, and that sets up new connections.”

And now his patients are exhibiting their work at the Burbank Senior Artists Colony on December 19. Some 20 drawings will be showcased that day, so if you’re in the area, be sure to support!

You can read the rest of this article, which appeared in The Los Angeles Times, by clicking the link.