Media Process: Free choice - Mosaic
Population: Older Adults
Disorder: Neurocognitive Disorders
For the free choice option I chose to work with mosaic tiles. I have had a mosaic kit sitting in my studio space for ages, and for some reason I was never inspired to give it a try. I have not worked with mosaic tiles before, but I have enjoyed creating collages in a mosaic-inspired manner, so I expected to really enjoy the process. I chose to embellish an old flower pot that I had, and created a simple design. I enjoyed the process of sorting the tiles by colors and planning where they would go, relaxing into the decorative manner of mosaic work. I was working with tiles provided in the kit, but I broke them into smaller pieces, which allowed me to search for pieces that would fit together in interesting ways. I really struggled though, when trying to adhere the tiles to the pot. The process (based on the kit instructions) instructed me to use the adhesive to glue down the pieces, and then after that has dried, to grout the tiles into place. But when I used the adhesive, the pieces would not stay in place and would slide around if I was not careful. I had to wait and add the tiles in small sections at a time and was covered in glue and very frustrated. I ended up only covering half of the pot and plan to revisit the task at a later date. While I responded very negatively to that stage in the process, I did really enjoy the grouting stage. After filling in the spaces between the tiles, I used a sponge to clear away the excess grout, which was a very satisfying experience, and reinvigorated my interest in the material.
I am curious about the potential to use mosaic tiles with older adults with neurocognitive disorders. The process supports exercising cognitive experiences, as it requires a conscious effort at planning, decision making, sequencing, and problem solving (Hinz, 2019). I think it would be important to set up structures for success, for instance, I would suggest to create the mosaic piece on a flat surface so the tiles would stay in place as they dry. It could be interesting to explore the use of different materials to use for the mosaic tiles as well. I am wondering how an increased experience of meaning making could be implemented through the use of personally significant glass or ceramic objects that perhaps have been damaged or broken in the past. I would be interested to see how they could be transformed into a new art object by using them within the mosaic piece.
Hinz, L.. (2019). Expressive therapies continuum: A framework for using art in therapy. Routledge.