MorseLife Art – MorseLife

MorseLife Partners with Community Organizations to Bring the Butterfly Project to Palm Beach County | MorseLife

morselife — Thu, 06 May 2021 14:33:32 +0000

MorseLife Partners with Community Organizations to

Bring the Butterfly Project to Palm Beach County

A recent Jewish Journal story highlights how the project memorializes children who perished in the Holocaust and honored Survivors through art and education

MorseLife residents, Palm Beach County students, and community members are taking part in the Butterfly Project. In this educational and memorial-making project, each participant paints one butterfly for every child lost in the Holocaust. The goal is to create 1.5 million butterflies worldwide as a display of resilience and hope.

Morselife Health System’s NOW for Holocaust Survivors Initiative, along with NEXT GENERATIONS of Holocaust Survivors in Boynton Beach, the Palm Beach County School District, the Orthodox Union’s youth group NCSY’s Jewish Student Union, and the international Butterfly Project have partnered together to bring the Butterfly Project to the Palm Beach County community. The partnership was made possible through a grant from the Jewish Federations of North America’s Center on Aging and Trauma, a project of the Holocaust Survivor Initiative.

“While we provide free care and support services to Survivors in poverty through our NOW for Holocaust Survivors Initiative, we also feel a profound obligation to educate younger generations and memorialize those who were lost in the Holocaust,” said MorseLife Health System President and CEO Keith Myers. “Art can touch the soul in deeply meaningful ways, which is why this project is so powerful for children, families, and our residents.”

Each butterfly comes with a biography about a child who was murdered in the Holocaust, relating information about their life to connect the artist to the victim. The Butterfly Project uses the lessons of the Holocaust to educate about the dangers of hatred and bigotry while cultivating empathy and social responsibility.

“All of the impoverished survivors we support through our NOW for Holocaust Survivors Initiative have suffered unimaginable trauma. With more than 5,000 ceramic butterflies being created community-wide in Palm Beach, this project represents hope for the future and the assurance that through education, history won’t repeat itself,” added Rabbi Erica Rosenkranz, MorseLife’s NOW Initiative engagement director.

MorseLife has also announced plans to work with a local artist on a sculpture designed with the butterflies, which will be on permanent display at MorseLife and serve as a lasting symbol of endurance, hope, and change. The sculpture is to be complete in early 2022.

To read more, visit the Jewish Journal.

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Resident Spotlight: Selma Klein on Painting & Sculpting | MorseLife

morselife — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 14:28:44 +0000

Levin Palace Resident, Selma Klein, Finds Joy through Painting and Sculpture

The famous 20^th-century artist Pablo Picasso said, “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” Current findings in art therapy and music therapy would agree with this observation, as would the many MorseLife residents and staff who have experienced it for themselves. Our residents have access to a range of leading-edge creative programs, from dancing and sculpting to playing musical instruments. We have witnessed firsthand how creative engagement enhances the quality of life and overall well-being.

We sat down with Selma Klein, a Levin Place independent living resident who radiates positivity and enthusiasm for life, to discuss her stunning artwork and what it means to her. Selma, a newlywed woman who met her husband, Norman Berlant, at the Levin Palace and married late last year, has enjoyed painting and sculpting for more than 25 years.

“I was a vocalist in show business, and I decided to take up watercolor, oil painting, and sculpture as a way to take a break from work,” said Klein. “I love the human figure and enjoy being creative through sculpting. It’s engrossing, and that’s exciting.”

Selma was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and resided in North Miami Beach for 45 years with her late husband.

“We were a great-looking couple, but he passed away soon after I moved to MorseLife, and I needed to find new ways to love life and stay positive. MorseLife is a good place to do that with so many opportunities to stay active and social,” she noted.

Selma has participated in the many art classes offered at MorseLife. When COVID hit, she turned to the in-house programming provided on the television to continue to stay active and engaged.

“Even when I was at work alone painting in my kitchen during the pandemic, I felt transported to another place and time. Creativity does that to you. It’s important to wake up each day and choose to be happy, and painting and sculpting help me to do that,” added Klein.

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New Dementia Program: Art in the Dark | MorseLife

morselife — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 17:50:03 +0000

Many studies indicate that as many as 20% of persons with Alzheimer’s and dementia experience greater confusion, agitation and anxiety later in the day and throughout the night. As a result, patients may feel restless, be unable to sleep, wander, and experience behavior issues – this is referred to as “sundowning.”

There are many solutions to what is often a temporary issue, such as medication, better home lighting, and more activity during the day. Senior care providers such as adult day care centers, assisted living residences and nursing homes also implement innovative solutions to help residents ease through the evening hours.

MorseLife’s Memory Care Assisted Living residence in West Palm Beach is one such provider that is providing unique ways to help its residents with dementia make the most of their lives. In the case of “sundowners,” one of its newest programs is called “Art in the Dark,” an initiative that encourages residents to express themselves through art in the evening hours.

Stephanie Frazier, Executive Director of MorseLife Housing, noted that the “Art in the Dark” initiative was similar to a concept she experienced while she was a guest at a café offering instruction in painting and wine. “For me, it was so much fun – the staff provided everything we needed like the canvas, paint brushes, step by step instruction and paint, as well as a nice glass of wine,” she said. “As developed in our Memory Care Assisted Living, we skip the wine, but we guide them in creating their own watercolors.”

Ms. Frazier noted that art instructor Jerry Oliver and the MorseLife team make things completely accessible to residents. “We place blank canvasses on the walls, provide all supplies, and gently offer suggestions and ideas, and the encouragement they need to start creating,” she said. “The results of their work have been amazing!”

“Many a night, we see our residents exploring their talents with listening to classical music well into the later evening hours, and they enjoy every minute of it!” noted Ms. Frazier. “In our residence, we are all about providing peaceful days – and nights – to our cherished seniors. The ‘Art in the Dark’ program is one more initiative that is both helping them become less restless in the evening hours, and also giving them the joy of discovering or rediscovering their artistic talents.”

Keith Myers, President/CEO for MorseLife Health System, noted that the connection between art and healing is at the forefront at MorseLife Health System. “First, we have exceptional art programs for residents in all of our settings, such as memory care, long-term care, short-term rehab, adult day care and memory care,” he said. “Even further, the art of truly noteworthy artists – paintings and sculptures – are throughout our campus and buildings, most often either commissioned or donated by generous benefactors.” Myers notes that the MorseLife boasts a “museum-quality art collection that is often visited by members of the community who do not have any other reason to be on the campus.”

“We believe that art humanizes the health care environment, and through its beauty and symbolism, we believe it spurs healing,” he said. “’Art in the Dark’ for our memory care residents is an initiative that really focuses on the ‘healing” nature of artistic expression, in this case, helping seniors with dementia with their restlessness that can cause sleeping and behavior issues.”

For more information about the “Art in the Dark” program, and other programs of Memory Care Assisted Living, call (561) 209-6107. To view the art of the MorseLife Health System campus, call MorseLife Foundation at (561) 209-6103.

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