
HUH??

and the mosaic project in Horticulture Therapy was born out of this destruction and tragedy.



We started this venture using the broken pottery acquired from the tragedy supplemented by anything ceramic from my home that I didn't want... old lamps, old coffee mugs, plates, buttons, stones, polished glass, marbles, old jewelry... anything that was colorful! I then went through the pottery in the shop and anything that was cracked or chipped was
put into the mosaics. We tried using old dinner crockery from the dining hall, but that was too
boring and that idea was abandoned. We quickly ran through what items that I had collected. Then, I started on my idea of recycling -by-reusing unwanted ceramics. Around the corner from the Flower shop is a huge occupational therapy program which uses ceramics to help vets regain fine motor skills and provide structure to their day and they made a donation.


Their
donations were quickly exhausted...so, I went to the other recreation therapists on st
ation. The therapists at the nursing home had several boxes of ceramics that they were going to dispose of because the patients didn't want their projects. This has happened 3 times... and we are good for awhile.


Do you think this is a project that you could use in one of your programs?
We have found this to be a very satisfying project. It is very colorful. You are encouraged to break things (with safety goggles, gloves, and on a surface that han
dle the damage) and it socially appropriate way to handle any misplaced aggression. One's creative ideas are encouraged (I do provide guidelines such as no obscenities, no nudes, no socially inappropriate gestures) You don't have to stay within the lines, it doesn't need to look realistic, and you can make up your design as yo
u go along. The pottery doesn't break into perfect squares and that is fine...it can be utilized in any fashion. When we run out of counters to cover, I think we will try our skills out with pots that we could use in the Flower Shop!
We have found this to be a very satisfying project. It is very colorful. You are encouraged to break things (with safety goggles, gloves, and on a surface that han


Let me know if you are having fun with mosaic!
Great idea, covers the brown formica and adds that bit of pizzazz... great therapy being imaginative, keeps the grey cells stimulated. i have some artist friends who would love it. One is an art therapist.
ReplyDeleteAbout your dog, i had always thought of doing similar, i've seen some beautifully colored greyhounds in my travels.
Keep on growing...
L.
Now that is a very kewl idea!
ReplyDeleteThank you both... it is hard to pick out projects that are meaningful, creative and have a value. This was a win-win-win situation...very hard to come by!
ReplyDelete