A PAINTER’S JOURNEY INTO ALZHEIMER’S
Exhibition dates: February 28 – March 28, 2010 Betts Engell wore many hats: painter, social worker, educator, dancer, ecologist, traveler, builder, gardener, wife, mother, grandmother and friend.
Her paintings come from a deep source of inner vision and reflect her life: walks by Bronte Creek, the Escarpment, friends from Scottish Country Dancing. When told her problem was her brain, she went into a state of extreme anxiety. As the disease progressed the paintings became more abstract, simpler, but still haunted by dragons and snakes with the odd landscape thrown in.
Led to the studio by her caregiver Mary, she would be placed in front of a plate and a brush put into her hand. Quite suddenly she would come alive and start painting with energy and focus. When it was time to print she turned the wheel of the press slowly. Peeling the print from the plate she would smile and say, “I like it”. Her delight was infectious and we all clapped.
The paintings reveal the silent world of a descent into Alzheimer’s with its many stages. As a social worker, she encouraged the documentation of her illness and gave permission to a film crew to work with her . Numerous shoots in many locations have taken place over the past years. In her paintings one can almost see into her heart. The paintings provide a glimpse into the inner world of dementia. Perhaps her greatest contribution.
