Artist Directory
2008-2009

This first compilation of our Arts in Health Care Artist Directory is designed to assist health care and nursing home providers locate professional artists to provide artists in residence or staff/artist training programs in their facilities. It is by no means comprehensive and is considered a work in progress.

Many of the artists listed in this directory are members of our juried New Hampshire Artist Roster and/or have received training through VSA Arts New Hampshire (formerly Very Special Arts NH) or other arts and health care related training programs, including a regional arts and healing initiative. A few are not members of our roster but are experienced in working in health care settings.

For a complete listing of New Hampshire Artist Roster members, go to:
http://www.nh.gov/nharts/artsandartists/roster/rosterindex.htm

Artist Directory Application
If you are an artist experienced in working in health care settings and/or with people who are elderly and would like to apply to be listed in this directory click here for application information.

New Hampshire Arts in Health Care Artist Directory

Click on the headings below to jump directly to that category or scroll down to view all entries.

Dancers/Movement Artists
Musicians
Theatre Artists/Storytellers
Visual Artists and Crafts People
Writers and Poets

Dancers/Movement Artists

Susan Barnard MFA, MA, Dance; CMA, RN
Dancer/Choreographer
Susan Barnard is a long-time movement/dance educator, choreographer, performer, health educator, and RN who is certified in prenatal and postpartum fitness. Susan has worked with all ages in dance settings and health care, and she is a Certified Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst who values physical, creative, and emotional integration. She can adapt her classes, workshops, and residencies to the needs of the group– be it enhanced physical wellness in the workplace, or improved quality of life in the elderly or those with chronic illness. Currently, Susan is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Dance at Colby-Sawyer College and a Maternal-Child Health RN with the Concord Regional VNA. Susan is available on Mondays and weekends during the school year with more flexibility in the summers.

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Kelly Doremus Stuart *
Dancer/Choreographer
Dance/movement educator, choreographer and performer Kelly Doremus Stuart has been sharing her love of dance with children and adults through New Hampshire since 1985. As a roster artist with VSA arts of NH, adjunct theater faculty at New England College, and former Associate Artistic Director of Petit Papillon Ballet Theatre of New Hampshire, she has enjoyed working with students of all ages and abilities in a wide range of venues. Kelly prefers to tailor her residencies to each school's specific needs, creating her lesson plans around classroom curriculum, literacy, art, music and PE connections. She served as a member of the NH Curriculum Frameworks for the Arts Task Force as a writer of the dance standards. She applies these standards in her residency planning.

Contact Information:
7 Fernald Street
Concord, NH 03301
Phone: 603/226-4365
E-mail: kdoremus60@comcast.net
Roster Listing: http://pierce.state.nh.us/nharts/artsandartists/roster/artistinfo.asp?ArtistID=85

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Eve Kodiak
Music/Developmental Movement
Eve is both a professional musician and a licensed kinesiologist, and her work combines the healing power of music and movement. Her areas of expertise are: 1. Developmental movement with music. Using sound, and the simple, universal language of infant reflexes and Brain Gym, we can begin to “re-wire” the brain-body connection. Especially useful for memory, coordination, and emotional integration. 2. Improvisation. Anyone can improvise! Using voice, body instruments, and simple percussion, we can experience the healing effects of rhythm, flow, and self-expression. 3. Vibrational Healing. Listening to tuning forks and/or toning, we open cranial bones and remove blocks in the connective tissues, releasing stress and creating a feeling of deep relaxation. 4. Personal Music. As an improvisational pianist, Eve creates healing music on the spot, reflecting and integrating the individual or group. 5. Concerts. Programs include Meditations for a New Year’s Day, seasonal tunes in the form of a labyrinth walk, and Scenes from Childhood: a program that combines the famous work of Robert Schumann with an improvised work based on titles of childhood memories submitted by audience members. 6. Environmental Healing Forms. The group creates a healing form in sound and space, combining intention, musical improvisation, and movement.

Contact Information:
PO Box 13
Temple, NH 03084
Phone: 603/878-4726
Alt. Phone: 603/547-7802
E-mail: eve@evekodiak.com
Website: www.evekodiak.com

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Musicians

Concord Community Music School *
Through its Music in the Community Initiative, Concord Community Music School offers a variety of exemplary performance and participatory programs for nursing homes, older adults living in public housing communities; human service agencies; and health care facilities. Music School faculty have worked extensively with people from many backgrounds, including but not limited to: adults of all ages, including participants in their 90s; individuals with disabilities; cancer support groups; and people with mental illness. Novice musicians are able to participate comfortably through carefully developed vocal, movement, and percussion programs that require no prior musical experience or instrument ownership. Also on the faculty is a certified music therapist. Recommendations from partnering agencies who work in health care and elder services praise the highly trained and experienced faculty musicians who enjoy working with their constituents, who often have little access to musical participation. Many older adults also participate alongside younger students in on-site Music School lessons, ensembles and choruses, which are open to all, regardless of age, background, income, or musical ability.
Visit their website at: http://www.ccmusicschool.org/mici-overview.php Note: Many of the school's faculty members are members of NHSCA's New Hampshire Artist Roster.

Contact Information:
Calvin Herst
Director of Education and Community Partnerships
Concord Community Music School
23 Wall Street
Concord, NH 03301
Phone: 603/228-1196
E-mail: cherst@ccmusicschool.org
Website: www.ccmusicschool.org

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Julie A. Corey, The Village Drum
Musician – Drums, Flutes, Song & Dance
Julie Corey, BS, LMT, Reiki Master, has been a professional Drum Circle Facilitator, Teacher, and Performing Musician since 1998. She specializes in the rhythms, songs, and dances of Earth-based traditions of Native & African cultures.
In the past 5 years, Julie has been facilitating drum circles extensively for several American Cancer Society “Relay for Life” programs, “WE CAN” weekends, as well as with local Breast Cancer Survivor groups. She was recently trained as a REMO “Health Rhythms” Facilitator in Recreational Music Making, and hopes to continue to facilitate drumming in health-related environments and wellness programs. Julie is also a REMO endorsed Drum Circle facilitator, one of five women in the world, www.remo.com. In addition, Julie plays flutes, recorders and drums as a World Music duo in concert with harpist, De Luna (see below).

Contact Information:
The Village Drum
26B Farmer Road
Hooksett, NH 03106
Phone: 603/647-0622
E-mail: yourvillagedrum@aol.com
Website: www.thevillagedrum.com

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De Luna
Harpist, Composer, Sound Healer
For years De Luna has played harp for people in a variety of therapeutic settings, including area hospitals, nursing homes throughout New England, and hospice programs. She has also designed and presented programs for special needs groups and given presentations on the healing aspects of music in a variety of settings. She is currently completing her certification as a Music Practitioner in the national Music for Transition Program by interning at local area hospitals. A self-taught artist, De Luna has been playing the harp for 15 years and is now an established professional musician and composer who has produced five CDs. She offers a variety of programs/workshops, including: one-on-one bedside programs, sing alongs of old favorites, as well as stress reduction and informational programs on therapeutic music for health providers. She co-facilitates healing circles for women and Music Jam with African drummer, Julie Corey (see above). De Luna offers private harp lessons as well as group workshops at her studio.

Contact Information:
PO Box 16523
Hooksett, NH 03106
Phone: 603/647-0622
E-mail: delunaty@aol.com
Website: www.delunaharps.com

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Eve Kodiak
Music/Developmental Movement

See full listing under Dancers.

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Rahel Limor
Jewish-American-Israeli Performing Artist & Sound Healer
Drawing on the wisdom well of ancient, mystical, and spiritual traditions that have merged out of the Middle East, award-winning Jewish-American-Israeli performing artist and sound healer, Rahel, is building bridges with beautiful and compelling melodies, chants and meditations that define her intriguing folk-infusion world, traditional and transformational music. Rahel’s extensive 25+ year career has found her setting up non-profit organizations in support of music, movement and the arts for people of all ages, from six-week old infants to seniors. Since 1997, Rahel has been engaged in the study and practice of music as a unique and powerful form of energy medicine that supports mind-body-spirit healing and transformation and has completed arts and healing and hospice training. She serves musically in therapeutic settings including hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, senior residences, hospices, and special needs facilities; and facilitates meditative, experiential, and interactive concerts, programs, and sessions at retreats, conferences, educational facilities, a variety of health-related environments, and faith and interfaith communities in the USA and abroad. Rahel’s music inspires, uplifts, and adds a level of truth and sophistication that is unavailable otherwise.

Contact Information:
59 Great Brook Road
Milford, NH 03055
Phone: 603/672-3682 or 769-9553
E-mail: rahel@rahelmusic.com
Website: www.rahelmusic.com

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Carolyn Parrott *
Storyteller/Musician
Carolyn draws upon years of performing and teaching folk music, calling dances, and telling stories to present unique participation-oriented programs for all ages. Her lively performances feature stories with songs or chants that employ her vast array of familiar and exotic instruments, while residencies can be "mixed and matched" to meet the school's or community's needs. Carolyn has advanced degrees in music and comparative literature and is on the faculty of the Concord Community Music School where she directs Songweavers, a 200+ women's a cappella chorus, and teaches five-string banjo and folk fiddle. She has a brochure available upon request.

Through the last 30+ years as a performer, Carolyn has worked with varying populations including people with developmental disabilities and the elderly. She worked in the early nineties at the Spaulding Youth Center and the Hope School in Nashua doing folk dancing and singing with children with autism as well as storytelling with the boys with emotional disabilities. Most recently Carolyn has founded and run the “Sunflower’s Chorus,” a drop-in chorus for adults with developmental disabilities maintained through the Music-in-the-Community Initiative at the Concord Community Music School. In the last two years she has done programs for the elderly through the North Country Arts Council, and a choral residency, funded by the NHSCA, at Havenwood Heritage Heights in Concord, NH.

Contact Information:
680 Farrington Corner Road
Hopkinton, NH 03229-2018
Phone: 603/224-7669
E-mail: carolyn@carolynparrott.com
Website: www.carolynparrott.com
Roster Listing: http://pierce.state.nh.us/nharts/artsandartists/roster/artistinfo.asp?ArtistID=63

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Recreational Music Making Program
Yamaha Corporation of America has launched an innovative Recreational Music Making Program with emphasis on Wellness. Participants in the program enjoy a relaxing group music experience, for which no prior knowledge of musical training is required. The program was developed as a result of leading-edge medical research which indicated conclusively that individual human genome stress markers can be most effectively and significantly reduced when participants partake of this program called Clavinova Connection. Designed for adults of all ages, and anyone who wishes to access their creative side while reducing stress. Concerts by professional pianist Paul Dykstra, an associate of this program, have been performed in public areas of hospitals for staff and visitors followed by bedside concerts on keyboard in patient rooms.

Contact Information:
Paul Dykstra
E-mail: lakeside.park@gmail.com

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Beverly Rush *
Guitar and Vocalist
Beverly Rush, Certified Music Practitioner, CMP, offers live therapeutic music programs for health care settings. As a professional guitarist and songwriter, Beverly’s repertoire is a rich blend of original, familiar and improvisational music. She is successful providing refreshment, comfort, and relaxation to patients of all ages. Twenty minutes of live acoustic music will: reduce blood pressure, boost the immune function, enhance pain management, relieve anxiety, and produce a sense of well-being.
Designed to meet the needs of patients and staff, Beverly’s programs include bedside, corridor and small group sessions; staff workshops and patient assessment. She has provided her music programs at: Elliot Hospital, St. Joseph Hospital, Villa Crest Nursing Home, Merrimack County Nursing Home, Hillsborough County Nursing Home, Living at Home Senior Care, and private care patients. She is a member of the Gentle Muses at Massachusetts General Hospital.

“Beverly has been a faithful, consistent employee who comes to us with great spirit and energy, and wonderful ability to engage our clients quickly and the response has been positive and uplifting for all. I would recommend Beverly’s services to any organization knowing that the same qualities and benefits would result.” Beth Roberts, Occupational Therapy Manager, Acute Care Senior Health Unit, St. Joseph Hospital, Nashua, NH

Contact Information:
32 Cricket Hill Drive
Merrimack, NH 03054
Phone: 603/429-4162
E-mail: beverlyrush@comcast.net
Website: www.beverlyrush.com
Roster Listing: http://pierce.state.nh.us/nharts/artsandartists/roster/artistinfo.asp?ArtistID=318

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Gary Sredzienski *
Accordionist
Gary Sredzienski enthusiastically demonstrates the diversity of the piano accordion with a wide variety of styles encompassing several continents.  He represented NH in a performance at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, performed throughout Romania on a tour sponsored by the State Department, and represented NH at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1999.   Gary's first gig was at a nursing home at the age of nine in 1971.  At age 10, his mother enrolled him in a vaudeville act know as the 'Hog Hollow Hooters'.  Having apprenticed with ex-vaudeville performers at an early age, Gary has acquired an extensive repertoire of American music from the 1920s through the '40s. In 1990, he was sponsored by the Edgewood Center of Portsmouth and the listeners of his radio show to perform on a cross country nursing home tour. He completed a performance tour of 93 nursing homes in 15 states over a five-week period and was named a 'Point of Light' for this tour.  Gary continually visits the elderly to perform each week where  after each  performance he spends time strolling to visit those confined to their rooms.  He also offers residency programs for mentally and physically disabled students. 

Contact Information:
Bellows Music
PO Box 361
Greenland, NH 03840
Phone: 603/659-3977
Alt. Phone: 207/451-9114
E-mail:accordioNH@aol.com
Website:www.garysred.com
Roster Listing: http://pierce.state.nh.us/nharts/artsandartists/roster/artistinfo.asp?ArtistID=84

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Lucie Therrien *
Franco-American Musician
Lucie Therrien is a concert musician, teacher, historian, artist-in-residence, and recording artist with over 25 years of experience. She has produced many recordings, videos and DVDs, and is  well known as a French-Canadian recording artist, both here and abroad. Lucie has been providing music programs for nursing homes, assisted living sites, rehabilitation facilities, and other health institutions for more than 15 years. Her musical programs on guitar and piano (if available), plus other instruments such as spoons, are offered in English/French/Spanish plus four other languages. Lucie encourages residents to participate by singing songs both old and new, responding, clapping their hands, tapping their feet, or gesturing.  A recital format can be presented as well.

Contact Information:
PO Box 4721  
Portsmouth, NH 03802 -4721
Phone/Fax:  603/430-9524
Email: LT@star.net 
Website: www.LucieT.com  
Roster Listing: http://pierce.state.nh.us/nharts/artsandartists/roster/artistinfo.asp?ArtistID=88

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TJ Wheeler *
Blues/Jazz Musician
For 30 years Jazz & Blues guitarist/vocalist TJ Wheeler has worked interactively and performed with special needs audiences, including children’s hospitals & nursing homes throughout the world. As a member of the VSA artist and the NH State Arts Council AIE rosters for 20 years, he’s been a favorite at such schools as Spaulding Youth Center and Easter Seals as well as for elderly retirement communities such as the NH Veterans Home in Tilton and the NH Veterans Hospital. As Artistic Director of the Blues Bank Collective he’s championed issues of diversity in NH and beyond.
Tapping into the inherent healing powers of music, TJ reaches out to the needs of each individual he’s involved with (including Hospice patients). In a holistic pedagogy, the timeless music & memories of the great American Song Book (from New Orleans to Tin Pan Alley) reaches the hearts and souls of all ages. While they sing and play along on percussion instruments or just enjoy listening, TJ sprinkles historic context to each song, prompting cognitive thinking and spirited dialogue.
At schools, hospitals, and nursing homes, residents (often with ADD, as well autistic, and other neurological challenges) enjoy collectively writing songs and having fun, learning and playing Jug Band music. Other times TJ sensitively, and seemingly simply, uses music to help calm and relax his audience, as a meditative experience. Teachers to Recreation Directors have consistently been amazed at how TJ creates connections, bridging music and audiences together.

Contact Information:
11 Brown Road
Hampton Falls, NH 03844
Phone: 603/929-0654
Email: tjwheeler7@yahoo.com
Roster Listing: http://pierce.state.nh.us/nharts/artsandartists/roster/artistinfo.asp?ArtistID=90

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Michael Wingfield *
Percussionist
Michael Wingfield is a performer and teacher with over 20 years experience in the songs and rhythms of the African New World. Through instruments such as conga, bata, shekere, and other percussive arts, Michael imparts the spirit and history of the African diaspora in a way that speaks to today's issues of diversity. Director of the ensemble Cabildo, Michael's performance credits include Flora Purim and Airto, Richie Havens, Sun Ra, and the Portland Symphony Orchestra. With an animated love of traditional rhythms and folklore, he brings his audiences beyond cultural appreciation to cultural engagement. Michael is an artist in residence associated with the regional arts and healing initiative. He has done extensive artist in residence work at Tewksbury Hospital and Vermont Veterans Home and recently completed programs at Crotched Mountain and Havenwood Retirement Center.

Contact Information:
168 Clark Street
Portland, ME 04102
Phone: 207/780-0234
Fax: 207/871-0136
E-mail: mjwingfield@msn.com
Roster listing: http://pierce.state.nh.us/nharts/artsandartists/roster/artistinfo.asp?ArtistID=96

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Theatre Artists/Storytellers

Leah Carey
Writing / Performance Workshop Leader
We were all born using our voice, as we came screaming from the womb. Many of us have given up that voice to "authority" - a parent, teacher, institution, or system. Through guided writing exercises and other expressive activities, Leah leads individuals and groups through an exploration of reclaiming and giving voice to their own experiences, especially focusing on healing from the aftermath of illness. Longer group workshops include the opportunity to gather family and friends to witness and support participants in raising their voices. Leah has a degree in Directing and Stage Management and has approximately 10 years of experience in professional theatres around the country. Starting in 2004, she turned her attention to working with people to write and perform their own stories as a healing journey. She is also currently in training as a Spiritual Life Coach.

Contact Information:
PO Box 600
Franconia, NH 03580
Phone: 603/455-1640
E-mail: leah@sacredcliffs.org
Web: www.sacredcliffs.org

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Meg Gilman, MFA
Storyteller/Writer
Storytelling enriches lives and promotes healing, providing a safe approach for addressing difficult life passages and creating an opening for expression of feelings and personal truths. Because individual needs and abilities vary, Meg also uses a wide variety of techniques and art forms including poetry, journaling and journal making, collage, photography, movement, and spontaneous drama/improvisation. Drawing on her background as a visual/multi-media artist, teacher, and healing energy practitioner, Meg is versatile and responsive to the needs of participants, providing safe spaces for artistic expression. Her wide range of experience includes workshops, residencies, and performances (solo and with participants) in hospitals, senior centers, rehabilitation and mental health centers; for children through elders; for people with multiple disabilities, including those challenged by Alzheimer’s, brain injury, cancer, mental illness, grief, trauma, and chronic illness; and for medical, mental health, and pastoral professionals. Workshops, individual patient sessions, residencies, performances, retreats (for all ages, families, caregivers, and/or staff), intergenerational projects, and programs/trainings for professionals, are designed to meet the client’s needs. Her articles on storytelling, healing and the creative process have been published in numerous journals . A grants recipient for long-term residencies, she has participated in VSA and other clinical trainings. Meg is a frequent presenter at national storytelling and medical conferences, and also serves on the national Healing Story Alliance board.

Contact Information:
272 Newcastle Avenue
Portsmouth, NH 03801
Phone: 603/433-8578
E-mail : meggart@aol.com

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Carolyn Parrott
Musician/Storyteller

See listing in Musician section.

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Pontine Theatre *
Theatre Artists
Pontine Theatre has designed special performances with Seniors in mind. Bobbi Twombly, Activities Director at Valley Terrace in White River Junction Vermont wrote, "We truly appreciate the wonderful performance. It is very hard to have residents go out to plays, so this program is a blessing for assisted living facilities."Pontine's Connecting With Seniors is an entertaining two-person production that features a suite of scenes drawn from plays in the company's repertoire, all of which are stagings of poetry and stories by New England writers, including e. e. cummings, Sarah Orne Jewett, and Ogden Nash. The treatments are visually lively, using puppetry, masks and toy theatre staging techniques. Each 40-minute performance is followed by a "question & answer" session which includes a hands-on demonstration of the hand-crafted stage props. Since 1977, Pontine has performed and taught at universities, libraries, museums, and community centers all over New England. Pontine's Connecting with Seniors Program brings their productions and hands-on workshops in mask, prop and set making into assisted care facilities and senior centers.

Contact Information:
Marguerite Mathews and Greg Gathers
Pontine Theatre
959 Islington Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801
Phone: 603/436-6660
E-mail: info@pontine.org
Website: www.pontine.org
Roster Listing: http://pierce.state.nh.us/nharts/artsandartists/roster/artistinfo.asp?ArtistID=72

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Senior Moments
Theatre For and By Seniors
Senior Moments is a senior theater group sponsored by the Seacoast Repertory Theatre in Portsmouth, NH. The group writes most of its own material and presents an annual show; “The Oz Nursing Home” was its 2006 and 2007 production. Senior Moments has traveled around New England presenting educational information on topics ranging from injury prevention, safety in the home, and depression, all targeted to senior audiences. The group is currently presenting a play titled, “I Haven’t Got Time for the Pain”, in partnership with the NH Pain Initiative. The troupe also performs entertaining and humorous skits for audiences throughout the area including AARP, Retired Teachers Association, Maine Senior Expo, and has even performed for a judge in his courtroom. Some of the members meet with seniors at assisted living homes, day out programs, and senior housing, where they read plays with seniors. Four in-house drama/writing groups have been formed and meet on a regular basis. Four performances featuring seniors from these groups have been held and another is planned for spring of 2008.

Contact Information:
Joanne Dodge
17 Harmony Lane
Dover, NH 03820
Phone/Fax: 603/749-2084
E-mail : joannedodge@comcast.net

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Visual Artists and Crafts People

Emile Birch *
Sculptor
Emile is a sculptor of diverse abilities. He is known primarily for his large public sculptures in communities and corporations throughout New Hampshire. He is also a teaching artist of excellent reputation who has completed many successful residencies in schools, hospitals, state and private mental health institutions, prisons and youth detention facilities throughout New England. He is one of the founders of VSA New Hampshire and served on its board of directors for eight years. His most recent residency projects including staff, residents, family members and patients in hospital settings include the C. Everett Koop Institute wall relief sculpture “ Community ” in the small rotunda at the Dartmouth Medical Center and the creation of large indoor and outdoor installation sculptures, to celebrate the idea of flight, for the First Annual Kite Festival at the Crotched Mountain School. He is a master community artist skilled in engaging people of all ages and abilities in a wide variety of projects. Emile is involved as an artist in residence with the regional arts and healing initiative.

Contact Information:
RR 2 Box 942
Talbert Hill
Canaan, NH 03741
Phone: 603/523-7289
E-mail: silverbirch@earthlink.net
Website: www.emilebirch.com
Roster Listing: http://pierce.state.nh.us/nharts/artsandartists/roster/artistinfo.asp?ArtistID=7

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Bobbie Herron
FreedomWeavers Studio
Weaver
Bobbie Herron, SAORI weaving coach and owner of FreedomWeavers Studio, shares her humor and enthusiasm for creative expression through the philosophy of SAORI which was created in Japan in 1968. Our residencies welcome men and women of all ages, from the shy to the bold. SAORI invites us to explore color and texture, free from constraints of preplanning and goal-oriented thinking. Residents and staff will be pleased at the array of fibers provided: fine threads, and bulky yarns, soft unspun wools and cottons, and natural elements of the season such as grasses and seed pods. SAORI becomes an exciting way to expand our attitudes, not only about yarns but about ourselves. SAORI studios around the world have seen weavers with disabilities experience improved range of motion, mood enhancement, and reduction in pain levels. Storytelling breaks out as residents experience relaxation and laughter.

Contact information:
FreedomWeavers Studio
320 Village Street
Penacook, NH 03303
Phone: 603/568-8336
E-Mail: freedomweaver@comcast.net
Website: www.freedomweavers.com

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Sarah D. Haskell *
Weaver
For over thirty years Sarah has balanced her love of making art with her love of working with people to help them express themselves through art. Through making her own art, she knows first hand that the creative process is good for your health.
As an educator, Sarah believes that people of all ages and abilities are capable of having a positive art experience. Her job as a teacher is part coach, part cheerleader, and part patient witness. Sarah offers a creative experience that is easily repeated with widely accessible materials/equipment and simple techniques. Sarah’s residency work includes community as well as individual projects, all designed to allow freedom of expression.
Recent projects in health care and with the elderly include the Mandala Community Weaving, Community Tapestries, and Individual Woven Amulet Pouches. Sarah has been an artist in residence in many New England schools, communities, prisons and hospitals and is on the faculty of NH Institute of Art, Manchester, NH.

Contact Information:
PO Box 452
York, ME 03909
Phone: 207/351-1985
E-mail : sarah@sarahhaskell.com
Website: www.sarahhaskell.com
(There is a specific section on her website about her arts/health work)
Roster listing: http://pierce.state.nh.us/nharts/artsandartists/roster/artistinfo.asp?ArtistID=32

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June D. Latti
Painter
June Latti, former Activity Director at a county nursing home, offers a painting and art appreciation program for nursing home residents, individuals with disabilities, and persons with Alzheimer's Disease. A respectful and creatively stimulating environment is provided through painting where the resident artist is able to experience enhanced self-esteem and self-confidence. The physical and emotional involvement of the resident in the act of painting reduces social isolation and improves communication with peers and staff. Residents' art work is matted and exhibited. Ms. Latti has a degree in Fine Arts and over 15 years of teaching and working with older adults and children. In addition to working directly with the resident artist, training workshops are available for staff.

Contact Information:
10 Court Street
Concord, NH 03301
Phone: 603/228-1422
E-mail: jatti_2000@yahoo.com

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Kathy Parsonnet
Visual Artist
Kathy Parsonnet is a visual artist with over 30 years’ experience working in health care settings including hospitals, community health centers, homes for the aged, and mental health facilities. She is the inventor of Fraglets® Art—movable magnetic art designed to encourage the creative spirit while meeting the challenges of providing art-making experiences in challenging settings. The Fraglets® Art system has been used by thousands of individuals and groups in health care settings around the country. Her Fraglets public interactive art has been on display in hospitals, medical schools, waiting areas, and doctors’ offices.
Currently the Artist-in-Residence at both Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, and Artistic Director of CCIN of VT & NH’s Art for the Sake of Health initiative, Ms. Parsonnet has developed numerous programs and arts activities that meet the needs of specific populations, including inpatients and their families, outpatients, and hospital employees. She has also conducted arts workshops for people living with a variety of chronic conditions, including HIV, cancer, and Parkinson’s disease. A consultant for the Society for Arts in Healthcare, Kathy’s area of expertise is arts program development, evaluation, and research.

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Writers and Poets

Leah Carey
Writing/Performance Workshop Leader

See listing in Theatre Artists/Storytellers section.

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Rodger Martin *
Poet/Writer
Rodger has provided creative writing and poetry performance workshops with residents recovering from brain trauma at The Krempels Institute in Portsmouth. Additionally he has worked with veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (providing both readings centered on war, beginning with Homer’s Odyssey, and creative writing workshops designed to provide soldiers a creative outlet for the stress imposed by war). He has also worked with the elderly at the Bennington Veterans Home in Bennington, Vermont.
In most of Rodger’s workshops, he provides a multi-sensory approach to writing so that it is not just a reaction to the eye but also to the ear and sense of touch.

Contact Information:
30 North Road
Hancock, NH 03449
Phone: 603/525-4715
E-mail: rodgerwriter@verizon.net
Roster Listing: http://pierce.state.nh.us/nharts/artsandartists/roster/artistinfo.asp?ArtistID=46

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Verandah Porche
Poet
Poet and writing partner Verandah Porche has developed a practice, “told poetry” or “shared narrative” to allow those who need a scribe to create and share personal literature. She has conducted residencies with patients, staff and volunteers at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Gifford Medical Center in Randolph, VT, and at nursing homes, senior centers, and in peoples' homes, around New England. She provides training to chaplains, hospice volunteers, nurses, caregivers, and others interested in retrieving unheard visions. Anthologies from told poetry programs include Listening Out Loud from Real Art Ways in Hartford, CT and They Know the Promise, from Gifford Medical Center. Verandah's own books are The Body's Symmetry and Glancing Off. Performances feature poems, songs, improvisations and conversations with the audience, and may move seamlessly into a collaborative poetry workshop. With sponsors, Verandah tailors each residency to engage participants of all abilities. Verandah was one of fifty artists participating in Artists and Communities: America Creates for the Millennium. The Vermont Arts Council has honored her distinguished service to the cultural life of her state. Her current projects include Kitchen Talks with Guilford Elders, in her hometown, and Voices of the Uninsured, a series of told poems with Vermont residents.

Contact Information:
45 Old County Road
Guilford, VT 05301
Phone: 802/254-2442
E-mail: verandahporche@verizon.net
Roster Listing: http://www.vermontartscouncil.org/directory

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Peggy Rambach
Writer
Peggy Rambach is a resident teaching/artist in health care with the regional arts and healing initiative. She has taught memoir/creative non-fiction, fiction and poetry to elders with early stage Alzheimer’s, people living with mental illness, cancer, brain injuries, and residents of Tewksbury State Hospital with multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and complications from diabetes. Peggy has also worked in writing with the Asian community in Lawrence, MA and has taught male prison inmates. She is the author of the novel, Fighting Gravity, a collection of stories, When the Animals Leave, and is the editor of two anthologies that emerged from her community work in writing: All That Matters: Memoir From the Wellness Community of Greater Boston and Seeds of Lotus: Cambodian and Vietnamese Voices in America, published by The Paper Journey Press. Peggy's work is also featured in the documentary film: The Healing Arts: New Pathways to Health and she is a lead artist teacher at the annual regional Arts and Healing Initiative Symposium.

Contact Information:
1 Arundel Street
Andover, MA 01810 -2708
Phone: 978/470-2619
E-mail: prambach@aol.com
Website: www.artsandhealing.net
Roster Listing: http://www.massculturalcouncil.org/services/healingroster.html

Last updated: March 19, 2012