All Gave Some . . . Some Gave All

Another journal page - appropriate for today.

FLOW - Art Journaling

I've been away from blogging for awhile and away from creativity. I figured I'll start in with something new and what seems relatively simple ... art journaling. This one is called FLOW.

I plan to make my art journal using quotations and general knowledge depicted artistically. More in a day or two . . .

AAQI Awards Three Research Grants in One Month!

If you're a supporter of the AAQI or just curious about what we do with all that money, check out the links below!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

(Burton, Michigan) -- February 12, 2013: Last month the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI) awarded three research grants, the most awarded in a single month since the AAQI became a nonprofit in 2008.

$40,894 was awarded to Texas A & M Health Science Center to explore the connection between type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. The research will be conducted by Ian V.J. Murray, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics; and Carmen Ramirez, M.D., M.Sc., Assistant Professor, Texas A & M Health Science Center.

$35,000 was awarded to The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston to understand why some individuals remain cognitively intact despite the presence of abundant plaques and tangles (the hallmark signs of Alzheimer's) in their brains. The research will be conducted by Nicole L. Bjorklund, Ph.D., National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Postdoctoral Trainee.

$38,354 was awarded to Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, to identify and target molecular mechanisms of cell death in the Alzheimer’s brain. The research will be conducted by Lucian Soane, M.D., Research Associate.

The AAQI has funded 14 research studies to date. These grants are made possible, in large part, by the money raised from the sale of donated quilts.

For more in depth explanation of the funded research see www.alzquilts.org/researchawards.html.

Purchase quilts online at www.alzquilts.org/quiltsforsale.html

The Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative is a national charity whose mission is to raise awareness and fund research. The AAQI has raised more than $894,000 for Alzheimer’s research since January 2006. Ami Simms of Flint, Michigan is the founder and executive director of the AAQI, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Her mother had Alzheimer’s. This is the last year the AAQI will be fundraising.

For more information about the AAQI or to make a donation, contact Ami Simms at 810-637-5586 (9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Eastern), ami@alzquilts.org or www.alzquilts.org.

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New Ownerfor "Nelumbo"

Beth just sent me a picture from Houston - the first of my quilts to get sold.

Width: 10.75" Length: 7.5"
Materials/Techniques: The background fabric had too wide a repeat, so I sliced it up and put it back together on a piece of Lutradur. On a whim, I glued the seams with some iridescent glue. The flower was stitched first and then painted with acrylics. I finished with some Pearl Ex for shimmer and a deeper color. The binding is painted background fabric.
Artist Statement: Nelumbo is a genus of aquatic plants with large, showy flowers resembling water lilies, commonly known as lotus. The north American lotus is native to North America and the Caribbean. I had this Asian-feel background, so searched the internet for a flower I could paint on it - and found the lotus.

AAQI in Houston!

We will have a DIZZYING number of quilts for sale in Houston. Join the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative in Row S, (hard right as soon as you enter the exhibit area from the front of the George R Brown) October 31 to November 4th. Watch the video and you'll understand what I mean about dizzy! AAQI quilts headed for Houston!

CELEBRITY INVITATIONAL QUILT AUCTION STARTS NOVEMBER 1ST

The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AlzQuilts.org) offers an online auction during the first 10 days of every month. Each November, in honor of National Alzheimer's Awareness Month, the AAQI offers 12 very special quilts. This year the auction quilts have been made by world renowned quilters Alex Anderson, Hollis Chatelain, Caryl Bryer Fallert, John Flynn, Diane Gaudynski, Becky Goldsmith, Pat Holly, Libby Lehman, Marsha McCloskey, Sue Nickels, Mary Sorensen, and Ricky Tims. The quilts are about 16" x 16" and the auction is open to the public. Last year the 12 quilts offered in the November auction raised more than $14,000 for the AAQI, an all-volunteer effort to raise awareness and fund research through art. Visit http://www.alzquilts.org/ciqa.html to preview the quilts. On November 1st you can bid on the quilts here: http://www.benefitbidding.com/listings/categories/index.cfm?category=965774286 To watch the video: http://youtu.be/V8nCbK7Ej88 (Click the SHARE button and then select embed for the code to put the video on your blog.) The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative® (www.AlzQuilts.org) is a national, grassroots charity whose mission is to raise awareness and fund research. The AAQI auctions and sells donated quilts, and sponsors a nationally touring exhibit of quilts about Alzheimer's. The AAQI has raised more than $773,000 since January 2006. Ami Simms of Flint, Michigan is the founder and executive director of the AAQI, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operated entirely by volunteers. She is a quilter. Her mother had Alzheimer's.

Do they celebrate birthdays in Heaven?

Yesterday was my Dad's birthday, actually August 11, 1927 was his birthday. He died on December 14, 2010. Last year and again on this year, my siblings and my Mom celebrated our memories and the legacy of values that Dad left us.

His last years were not happy ones - for him or for us. He began to suffer the effects of dementia in the early 2000's and by 2005 was well on the way to being unable to live a normal life. My family has always been tightly knit, but we closed in more in support of Mom and Dad and we managed for a couple of years until in late in 2006 we had to place him in a nursing home. We lucked out in many ways - he ended up in a wonderful place right in Lodi so Mom was 10 minutes away. He had fantastic care but the disease is relentless and took more and more of him every week.

He watched his mother's decline into dementia and it was very hard for him to cope with it happening to him. He fought it for a long time - the fear and frustration must have been horrifying. I did my best to help by learning all I could about dementia and learning how to make things easier for him. It breaks my heart even now to think of how afraid he had to be.

I made this quilt for the first AAQI show: Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece. I wanted to depict that battle, from the first realization that it might be happening to him to the point where he couldn't fight any more, when the disease won. I won't say he lost, because it wasn't a fair fight. The quilt is named "The Crooked Path", with my own sub-title "Daddy Let Me Hold Your Hand".

I have pledged to do everything I can to help stop this disease. I am on the Board of Directors of the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative a grassroots all-volunteer organization. I work every day to make it possible for us to raise money to fund Alzheimer's research. I volunteer at a local nursing home in their special care unit, trying to spread moments of joy to others living through the hell of this disease. This year, I am walking the Alzheimer's Association's Walk to End Alzheimer's. My fundraising page is here.