As an artist for more than four decades, Barbara Warfel’s talent has inspired the young and old alike.

“I’ve been bringing art to people ranging in age from 5 to 95 on and off for 40 years,” said Warfel.

A gifted painter, Warfel began her career as a high-school art instructor, but her artistic passion is now focused on the opposite end of the generational spectrum.

Warfel has been at the forefront of a movement that recognizes the cognitive benefits of art instruction for seniors, especially those with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

“My current path is a product of necessity and bringing together three activities I most enjoy,” explained Warfel. “The necessity was to find meaningful employment. The three activities: teaching art, doing art, and enjoying the company of older people.”

Thus, Warfel decided to offer art activities for senior citizens residing in assisted living communities. Her first class, which took place in 1998, was at an assisted living facility in Mechanicsburg.

“I really enjoyed working with the seniors there, and they responded very positively to art activities,” said Warfel.

These activities ranged from holding a pencil properly to drawing lines and writing names on their canvas. The basics, as Warfel described them, remain the key component in her lessons.

“I really work hard on starting with very basic processes—literally, how to hold a pencil correctly,” said Warfel. “It’s important they are not working on a flat tabletop. It makes it so much easier for them to see. The pencil grip I use is not a writing grip; it is a grip which makes it easier for them to use their hands.”

Since teaching her first lesson more than 10 years ago, Warfel has provided instruction to more than 18 facilities, such as senior centers, apartment buildings for low-income elderly, and adult daycare centers.

“My range of experience working with this population is very broad,” said Warfel. “By observing which creative activities are successful and which are not, and why, I’ve built a strong art program for senior citizens.”

Nearly eight years after her first senior-instruction class, she began a new collaboration. The initiative, created in conjunction with a nonprofit arts organization in Harrisburg, was called Jump Street and aimed to provide art classes with those suffering from Alzheimer’s.

“I thought, ‘This is the challenge I have been preparing for all these years.’ We met the program services coordinator and set up the schedule,” explained Warfel. “I had only one requirement—select 10 people who could still write their first name to join the class.”

The first lesson was a drawing lesson; however, before everyone got started, they were asked to write their name on their piece of paper. All members of the class were able to do so, except for one woman, whose illness had progressed further than the others.

After explaining how to draw lines, the class spent an hour using the muscles in their arms, shoulders, and backs, to complete the task. At the end of the lesson, everyone was instructed to write their name again—including the woman with more advanced Alzheimer’s.

“[She] wrote her first name in beautiful, cursive script,” said Warfel. “Her daughter was there beside her. Her eyes grew wide in amazement. She couldn’t believe the effect that one hour had on her mother’s ability to write her name.”

Warfel was astounded at the power of such an activity.

“Neuroscientists are exploring evidence that artistic expression stimulates the growth of new brain cells and creation of new neuron networks in the cerebral cortex,” Warfel explained. “Working with this group for almost two years gave me many insights into the capacity of the mind to create while suffering endless losses.”

She has seen her program’s positive impact on not only the elderly, but on their loved ones as well.

“The families are so happy,” Warfel explained. “It gives them some peace that something is still going on in their loved one’s mind.”

For her exceptional work, Warfel was awarded Jump Street’s Spectrum Award for Excellence in the Arts in October 2006, recognizing her influential work with senior citizens suffering from dementia. Her innovations also inspired her authorship of a manual, Simple Lines Make a Difference.

The manual, designed for non-artist use, guides would-be art teachers through Warfel’s proven methods, providing questions to ask and demonstrating each lesson. Even someone with no artistic background can read the manual and teach the lesson as if Warfel were there.

As for the future, Warfel hopes to continue to spread the word about the power of art for the elderly. She would like to provide more seminars for caregivers in order to incorporate her program in retirement homes in various communities.

“I’d like to do more of that,” she said. “I think that’s where the important work is.”

To learn more about Barbara Warfel and her groundbreaking work with Alzheimer’s patients, visit her website at www.passeri-warfel.com.