I’ve posted the video of the second Creativity, Resolution, Art, Illness & Community (CRAIC) group meeting (held on August 25) on my website. I hope you’ll take time to view the video (it’s a little less than an hour), as well as the video from our first meeting, and let me know what you think.
Some of the things that happened during the webinar include:
- Musicians Scott Petito and Beth Reineke offered great feedback on how they use innovation and improvisation in their art. You can also listen to their music on the same webpage where we posted the video from the August 25 meeting.
- We had a great talk about the five capacities of improvisation — 1. Tolerate ambiguity, 2. Take risks, 3. Become curious, 4. Improvise, and 5. Innovate. We asked participants what they thought were their strengths and weaknesses among these capacities and got some really interesting responses. None of the participants thought they were very good at tolerating ambiguity, so it was logical that most people thought that’s the area where they needed the most help.
- We also had a lot of questions about the difficulty of judging your own work and about sharing your work with others. Some people felt that the idea of “art for art’s sake” — doing something creative that you like, regardless of what other’s might think — is sufficient.
- Scott and Beth offered a lot of insight on the topics of ambiguity, getting started on a project and the benefit of sharing your work with others.
We intend to hold CRAIC meetings every other month and will soon announce a date for the next event. To receive notification about the next CRAIC meeting, join our e-mail list by contacting us — please note in the comments box that you would like to be added to the CRAIC e-mail list. We’ll also post the next date on the Events page on our website.
The second Creativity, Resolution, Art, Illness & Community (CRAIC) web-based meeting will be held on August 25th at 11 a.m. Eastern. This group is a safe environment for sharing and getting feedback on artistic expression, and for learning to use creativity to develop a healthy response to chronic illness. There is no charge for participating, but you must register in advance at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/671968747.
I’m pleased to have Scott Petito and Beth Reineke join me as our featured artists in residence this time.
Scott is a Grammy nominated composer and producer. His NRS Recording Studio in Catskill, NY has been a popular destination for acoustic and jazz artists for many years. Scott is a gifted bassist and multi-instrumentalist who has performed on hundreds of recordings in many musical styles. James Taylor, Rory Block, The Band, Dave Brubeck, Jack DeJohnette, Mercury Rev and Keith Richards are only a few of the many artists with whom Scott has recorded and/or performed with. Scott is also a member of the legendary punk/poet band The Fugs, who have recently released, Be Free! The Fugs Final CD [part 2]. Scott has his own solo bass ambient instrumental CD titled Sbass Music and for over a decade has been performing as a duo with his partner, Leslie Ritter. Together they have released three highly acclaimed vocal recordings, In The Silence, Circles in Sand and This Christmas Morning. For more information, visit scottpetitoproductions.com or leslieandscott.com
Beth has been involved with music in one way or another for most of her life. After moving to Woodstock, N.Y., she began working at Scott’s NRS Recording Studio in 1997. She has worn many hats while there, including recording assistant and session singer. Beth has been Leslie Ritter & Scott Petito’s road manager, as well as providing stirring harmony vocals at their performances over the years. Some of the other artists she has recorded and/or performed with include; Rick Danko, Tom Pacheco, Pete Seeger, Michael Jerling, Scott Ainslie, Michael Franks, Helen Avakian, Aine Minogue and Anne Hills. Beth has also worked as a music publicist and radio promoter for multiple record labels and musicians such as the Hudson Valley Records roster of artists, Artie Traum, Happy Traum and Priscilla Herdman. For more information, visit myspace.com/lehemmusiconmyspace.
I hope you’ll be able to attend the meeting – please make sure to register in advance at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/671968747.
I’ve posted a video of the first Creativity, Resolution, Art, Illness & Community (CRAIC) group meeting (held on June 16) on my website at http://www.albanyhealthmanagement.com/services_craic_pastmeetings.shtml. I hope you’ll take an hour to view the video and let me know what you think.
Some of the things that happened during the webinar include:
• We talked about how innovation and creativity are vital in developing a healthy response to chronic illness and trauma.
• Photographers Bill Glenning and Ann Fantauzzi presented images they have taken and talked about how their art has been influenced by their chronic illnesses. Their photos are also posted below the video on the Past Meetings webpage.
• Participants asked questions and offered insightful thoughts about how to use art and innovation and to stay motivated when you have a chronic illness. (We’ll have more conversation at future CRAIC meetings.)
At the end of the video we announced a date for the next meeting, which unfortunately we’ve had to reschedule. We haven’t set a date yet — it will be August or September — so please join our e-mail list to receive information about the date and registration details. Just contact us with your name and e-mail address and note in the comments box that you would like to be added to the CRAIC e-mail list.
Craic is a Gaelic term that, loosely translated, means having a good time and laughter with friends. I was happy to discover that it’s also a perfect acronym for a project I’m launching in June — the Creativity, Resolution, Art, Illness & Community group.
Creativity is vital in developing a healthy response to chronic illness and trauma. By using our powers of innovation, we’re able to devise better ways of overcoming obstacles and dealing with the cards we’ve been dealt. And the arts — writing, music, painting, sculpture, dancing or other creative expression — offer an outlet for expressing our emotional and physical feelings. Art is both informed by and informs our suffering.
One problem we face is that chronic illness is inherently isolating, so we lose the ability to get feedback about our art and our experience. Through CRAIC, we’ll work together to create a community for feedback and sharing that is accessible in spite of limitations. We’ll meet using a Web- and phone-based system to learn about creativity and artistic expression, set individual goals and share our creative work.
It’s not a support group or therapy; rather it’s a safe environment to learn, develop community and get feedback from others on our progress. I’ll use my experience as a group facilitator and educator to ensure that we remain positive and helpful to one another and that individual interests and differences are respected. CRAIC came out of DePaul’s Chronic Illness and the Arts Symposium I spoke at on May 12, but the group is open to anyone. There is no charge for participation.
Whether you are currently working on an artistic project or simply want to learn more about CRAIC, I invite you to join us for the first meeting, on June 16 at 11 a.m. Eastern time. You can get more information and register for the Web-based meeting at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/797008011, or e-mail your questions to me at blog.28@albanyhealthmanagement.com.
art and creativity, chronic illness | Patricia Fennell September 1, 2010 | 
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