About the Cover Artist: Untitled by Pam Barton

Pam Barton’s love of art developed at a young age through her participation in art classes. Her mother and aunt encouraged Pam to pursue art and are the chief influences she credits with developing her love and enjoyment of art.

Pam’s paintings reflect her love of nature: “When I moved to California from Nevada, I remember the land was being developed, and there were open fields everywhere. We would go butterfly hunting in the fields...and the landscape is beautiful in California.” For Pam, painting is therapeutic because it produces satisfaction associated with the act of creating something. It is also a way of connecting with nature. As Pam states, “Painting is like a private way of communicating with the world… “Growing up I wasn’t very spiritual, but in my older age I reach to a higher power. I think a lot of people feel that way in nature.”

Pam created this month’s cover art through her participation in the Art Reveals Legacy Project, a program produced by the organization Artisan Mind and funded by the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. 

Pam states that she enjoys working with Artisan Mind because “I get gratification inside from being able to do something, from the joy of creating, and from a creative response to making something pretty. There’s an amount of satisfaction and even an amount of intrigue. You never know where a painting will take you. I consider myself an amateur but I have patience. Little by little, if it works, it’s gratifying, and even if it’s not gratifying I learn from the experience.” Pam also appreciates seeing what other individuals in the program create and learning about the different techniques they use to produce their artwork.

The mission of Artisan Mind is to use creativity to honor and uplift individuals living with Alzheimer’s and dementia.  Through holistic approaches, Artisan Mind focuses on participants’ strengths, hope, and joy through creative and spiritually engaging experiences in group and individual settings. Additional  information about Artisan Mind can be found at www.artisanmind.org