Man Chiu

we have an art program at the alzheimer's association called memories in the making. it's specifically geared towards individuals with alzheimer's or dementia and it's proven to be incredibly successful over the years.

our facilitators offer no assistance other than helping put paint on the brush. what happens on the paper is completely up to the artist. we've had families view their loved ones' work and comment on the similarities to occurrences or locations from the past. the crazy thing is, often times, the artist is no longer speaking at all so the fact that these memories still exist in their subconscious minds is pretty breathtaking.

every december, we host a holiday open house where we unveil the new year's collection. every once in a while, we are graced by the presence of one of our artists. tonight, man chiu - a local celebrity around the association - joined us for the party. he spent the evening flashing his toothless grin to all of our guests. he waved, took pictures with his paintings, signed autographs and soaked up the limelight.

his son explained that he loved painting (in his previous life) but worked so hard, he never had the time to focus on it. well, here he is painting his heart out and receiving more recognition and praise than he ever could've imagined. i'd bet my life he never wanted or expected to be a part of an alzheimer's art program but isn't that the way life goes?

god really does work in mysterious ways.