A curated selection of paintings, poetry, essays, photography and other art forms by Persons with Parkinson’s.
There is a body of research in cognitive science suggesting that the onset of Parkinsons’s disease may produce a creative impulse in some. There is no question that to be reminded of one’s mortality is sobering and can drive one to look for ways to process the grief and other emotions they may be feeling. Others, having stepped away from their careers, suddenly have more time on their hands and search for a way to spend this time productively. But for some special few, there is something more mysterious and magical at work. Some become filled a creative impulse that seeks an outlet and, when expressed, helps soothe them. For these few, art becomes integral to their lives in ways that they never thought possible before.
Instead of planning for nursing homes, we decided to plan for life. Instead of redefining ourselves as caregiver and patient, we reaffirmed our relationship as partners, recognizing there would be changes along the way.
- Nan Little
Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
- Bill Bucklew (quoting T. S. Eliot), On what inspired his walk across America
I would not wish the scourge of Parkinson’s on anyone. . . . Yet thanks to Rock Steady, most of the good things in my life are somehow related to my diagnosis
