Lester Potts’ Art Now Available on LestersLegacy.com

Sunday, June 18th, 2017

The watercolor art of Lester E. Potts, Jr., an artist with Alzheimer’s disease, is now available for purchase at http://www.lesterslegacy.com/.

Lester, a rural Alabama saw miller, had never painted until after the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. Lester’s newly-found creativity improved his quality of life and had many other benefits. His art has been shown from Beverly Hills to Paris, has been the subject of research, and appears in articles, textbooks, devotional books and documentaries.

Lester’s art has been used as a tool of engagement and reminiscence between care givers and persons with dementia. 

Prints of Lester’s art are available in different sizes on the http://www.lesterslegacy.com/ website.  In addition, 5 styles of greeting cards are available, with short verses composed by Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN on the back covers of each.

If you are not interested in purchasing, you may simply peruse the beautiful art that appears on the page.

Proceeds from the sale of all products appearing on http://www.lesterslegacy.com/ go toward supporting the mission and programs of Cognitive Dynamics

Potts and Duncan to speak at Re-Imagine Dementia Conference

Sunday, June 18th, 2017

Cognitive Dynamics Founder and President, Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN, and Executive Arts Director, Angel C. Duncan, MA, MFT-ATR will co-present at the Re-Imagine Life With Dementia Conference in Atlanta, GA on July 27, 2017. 

The conference is sponsored by the Dementia Action Alliance, and brings together the diverse dementia community for inspiring discussions, learning experiences, and engaging interactions.

Potts and Duncan will highlight Bringing Art to Life, an innovative program developed in collaboration with the University of Alabama Honors College which brings art therapy and life story preservation to persons with Alzheimer’s disease and others causes of dementia  and their caregivers.

Cognitive Dynamics and UA to Host Art Gala

Friday, April 8th, 2016

To all former students & participants in the Art to Life program at the University of Alabama Honors College:

PLEASE SAVE THE DATE: APRIL 19, 2016 – 6 to 8 pm
Ferguson Center Gallery on the UA campus
751 Campus Drive West, Tuscaloosa, AL 35404

Art to Life: A Celebration – A Short Film

Sunday, April 3rd, 2016

This video by Lauren Musgrove documents a celebratory dinner held on 12/8/2015 for the University of Alabama Honors College service learning course “Art to Life,” developed by Cognitive Dynamics Foundation in collaboration with the University. The course pairs undergraduate students of diverse majors with persons who have Alzheimer’s disease or other causes of dementia in an empathy and relationship-building art therapy, reminiscence and storytelling experience. To honor their participants, students host an end-of-semester gala at which leather-bound legacy books from LifeBio.com are presented to the participants and their families. These books contain student letters, poetry, participant art and life story material. Students also give the participants the art they have created over the semester, and share stories and words of thanks to honor and validate the personhood of their new friends.

Click on the link below to watch the 6 minute video.

Art to Life: A Celebration

Bringing Art to Life Program Featured in Mosaic Magazine

Monday, February 15th, 2016

University of Alabama Honors College Mosaic Magazine has published an article by Rachel Wilburn titled “A New Beginning.” The article highlights Cognitive Dynamics Foundation’s Bringing Art to Life program, offered as an undergraduate service learning course (UH 300: Art to Life).

You may read the article beginning on page 2 at this link:
A New Beginning

Marley and Potts Publish “Finding Joy in Alzheimer’s: New Hope for Caregivers”

Tuesday, January 26th, 2016

Here is an excerpt from  the back cover of the book: “Here’s a hope-filled book about Alzheimer’s caregiving. It was written by Marie Marley, PhD – a well-known author on dementia issues – and neurologist Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN, both experts on caregiving. With a Foreword by Maria Shriver, this groundbreaking volume will give you hope in the midst of the darkness of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. You can come to terms with your loved one’s condition and free yourself to experience joyous interactions. Part I covers a variety of issues, such as the authors’ belief that people with Alzheimer’s can still enjoy life, how to overcome denial, five especially difficult situations, the role of grief on the journey to acceptance, and letting go of resentment through making peace with God. In Part II the authors provide 55 helpful tips for visiting people with Alzheimer’s. Part III consists of numerous short stories illustrating the authors’ joyous interactions with their loved ones. The stories will warm your heart and light your way along the path to achieving true joy.”

Morgan and Potts Publish “Treasure for Alzheimer’s”

Saturday, September 26th, 2015

Cognitive Dynamics is honored to announce the release of Treasure for Alzheimer’s – Reflecting on experiences with the art of Lester E. Potts, Jr., by Richard L. Morgan, PhD & Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN. The book contains a series of reflections on Dr. Morgan’s experiences using the artwork of Lester E. Potts, Jr. to connect with people who have Alzheimer’s disease or Dementias of other causes.

We are grateful to our editors – Lynda Everman, Don Wendorf, PsyD, proofreader – Ellen W. Potts, MBA, and to our reviewers – Mara Botonis, Cathie Borrie, Rev. Dr. William B. Randolph and Kevin Jameson. A portion of the proceeds from the sales of this book will go to support the documentary film, “Do You Know Me Now?”

The book will soon be available on Amazon.com, but may be ordered now at the link below. https://www.createspace.com/5708351

“Bringing Art to Life” to Open in Chicago

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2015

Bringing Art to Life, an exhibit opening at the National Museum of Health and Medicine Chicago June 5, 2015, from 6 to 9 pm, will feature art by Lester E. Potts, Jr., a saw miller-turned-watercolor artist after the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and poetry by his son, Alabama neurologist Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN. The exhibit will highlight art and design as quality of life-promoting therapies for people with neurodegenerative disease, as well as techniques to enhance the effectiveness of caregiving. Elizabeth Barber, PhD will discuss her research on art and interior design as tools to create therapeutic environments especially for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD), and which lessen caregiver burden. A panel discussion will include distinguished AD and PD physicians experienced in the expressive arts, and an art therapist. Panelists will include Neelum Aggarwal, MD, Elizabeth Barber, PhD, Theresa Dewey, ATR, LCPC, Christopher Goetz, MD, and Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN. The Greater Illinois Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association is a partner for the event. The exhibit will run from June 5 – 26.

Do You Know Me Now” Crowd Funding Goes Live on Indiegogo

Friday, May 15th, 2015

DO YOU KNOW ME NOW ?

Life is about relationships, and relationships are built through our unique human traits – the things that make us who we are.  All of us have a story!  And our stories need to be heard.

People who have Alzheimer’s disease or other causes of dementia share our humanity– no one loses their personhood just because they have memory loss or confusion.  And they still need to be in relationship with others who love and care for them.  To truly know someone we must appreciate their life stories, as well as the particular gifts and passions that they contribute to the world.

Do You Know Me Now? is a feature documentary exploring relationship and personhood in people who have Alzheimer’s disease and other causes of dementia.  Our film will take a novel look at what it means to be a person with dementia who is still very much alive and possessing those traits upon which relationships may be built, even late into the disease.  We will highlight the stories of some very special people  and their loved ones who have found ways to connect — who have discovered joy, beauty and self-expression despite the losses.

Relationship that is deep and meaningful is still very much a possibility despite advancing cognitive loss, and should be the standard if we are to create what one of the film’s featured caregivers calls a “culture of compassion.”  Such care calls us to take an empathic journey into the very core of the person with dementia in search of the beauty and relational energy contained within.  We believe that our society cannot afford to lose this human treasure.

We have completed approximately half of the work needed to produce our documentary and are seeking the remainder through this Indiegogo crowd funding drive.  We need to raise $75,000 to finish the film, and get it out to the world. 

Will you help us tell the stories of people with Alzheimer’s and other causes of dementia, to show the world that they are still vibrant souls capable of meaningful relationships?  Will you help us share the hope, end the stigma, and create a culture of compassion?

Thank you for your support!

Do You Know Me Now? – A New Documentary from Cognitive Dynamics

Thursday, April 30th, 2015

Are you, or is someone you love a caregiver for a person with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia? Are you in need of inspiration and hope amidst this experience? Do you find it difficult to reach your loved one, to remain in relationship with them due to their memory loss?

Do You Know Me Now? seeks to show you ways in which you can reach your loved in the moment and have a mutually fulfilling relationship with them – one which discovers the person beneath the disease and builds upon remaining abilities and personality traits that still remain.

Our film will tell the inspirational stories of Cathie Borrie and her mother (The Long Hello: Memory, My Mother and Me), Rita and James Houston, and Lester Potts, and will share the wisdom and experience of well-known experts such as Naomi Feil (founder of The Validation Training Institute), and Alzheimer’s advocates such as Lynda Everman and Don Wendorf.

Life is about relationships, and these relationships need not be lost due to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. This trailer for Do You Know Me Now? is part of a crowd-funding campaign which will start in May, 2015, and seeks to raise the funds necessary to complete this documentary and get it out to you, to your loved ones, and to the world.

You may watch the film’s trailer here: https://youtu.be/9rLyDgti1h8

Please be watching for a crowd funding release on Indiegogo in May, 2015.

Cathie Borrie, Daniel Potts, Judith Murray, Rita Houston and James Houston

Thank you.

Naomi Feil and Daniel C. Potts

Lester E. Potts, Jr.