Karin Skold from Stockholm is out resident illustrator until 2006. Her images of elderly people are sensitive, warm and engaging, not to mention life-like!

I had been around some day centres and care homes as part of Poole Word & Book Festival 2004 and I was struck by the thought patterns and unusual words used by some of the people suffering with dementia.

I had seen a previous project involving photography by Cark Cordonnier from Lille and I was driven to create a project where the words of the residents could be exhibited in the community and to offer the artwork as a donation to the care home when completed, for the residents, staff and visitors to enjoy.

Karin visited Poole in Dorset, travelling through a Swedish snowstorm and haing a 6 hour delay at the airport...but this gave a fantastic story to share with the residents!

Karin brought some examples of Swedish art to show the residents and engaged everyone is chat about frosty foreign lands, while I captured comments and phrases, pictures and sound to use later to complete the project.

Only the words of the residents were used and the entire project was mounted on card mounts and displayed on a display board in the local library for one week, before being framed and donated to the care home for the dining room.

I had a great deal of positive feedback from the display in the Central Library, Poole, and the care home manager told me that she was able to use the display in the home as a teaching resource for staff.

The project was funded by contributions from three parties:,br>Arts Development Unit, Borough of Poole
Karin Skold
Paula Brown

Many thanks also to the staff at Mitchell House and to the Central Library, Poole.

I was a Fairy

I had a lovely father, oh a lovely father.
He made buttons, he was quite wealthy.
He gave his money to the Salvation Army
but I didn't mind. They do such good work
with the poor, giving them food, and clothes,
medicine and warm blankets. Such good work.

I'm not going to die yet but when I do, my money
will go to my mother and my uncle and to the
Salvation Army. They do such good work
with the poor, giving them food and clothes...

I didn't have any children, didn't want any.
But I used to teach the local children to dance,
to swim, to ride a bicycle.
They called me Auntie.

I used to dance with the operatic society.
I was a fairy, doo do do doo.....

They are very good to us here,
they tuck us up warm in bed with
plenty of blankets - too many!

I'm from Scotland. I like to read romances.
My accent is gone now, my memory is not so good.
If someone Scottish speaks to me, it comes back.

New Arrival

I haven't seen anybody this week
there are no nurses, only people.
I haven't had any treatment.
The hours are so long, so long
long days, nobody to talk to.
They don't come to see me.
You don't happen to have a newspaper, do you?

Forgetting the family

Are you my nephew?
You're John's son, aren't you?
I have a bus to catch,
must hurry.
I have lost my money,
they stole my purse -
I have to get home.
Are you joking?
You are my family, aren't you?
No, really,
seriously now,
You aren't joking -
are you?
Are you telling me the truth?
I will have to start walking back
to Stratford.
I have missed my bus.
It's hours of walking.
Are you my son?

Colonial

I used to live in a wooden house,
colonial they called it -
originated from the first world war.
Too much insurance now.

Not Ninety

That isn't me. I'm not ninety. I don't look like that.
If I were ninety, I wouldn't be able to walk like this.
Who is this in the mirror? It's not me, don't be stupid.

I think I will stay here tonight, can I stay upstairs?
Does my husband know where I am?

Ê Sleepless

I don't sleep. They give them to me but they don't work.
I'm too old, you see. They are very kind to us.
If that's the only cross I have to bear....
I can walk about. I can wash and dress if they help.

I've been here fourteen years.
They only wake up for meals.
She's not all there by a long way
But that lady is always smiling,
so sweet, she's smiling in her sleep.
The meals are wonderful here.
They give us a wonderful Christmas.

I'm from Wigan

It's famous for George Formby, he was an actor.
He lived in the next street, oh we had some laughs!

I had no children, no room for them to sit down.
My husband, there was nobody in England like him.

I married a foreigner, I am trying to think
Perhaps he was Scottish, no kilt though.

She made beautiful cakes, hot tea if they wanted it
and wine that wasn't very strong, for children.

I would cross the road if she walked towards me,
I hit her once, I hated her! His wife! Every penny!

The government moved him, we moved eight times.
We had a piano and a violin and Mother would go out

all evening!

No More Flying

where are my pension books, my love?
shall I sit here?
my son lives in Canada, not that one, the other one.
He doesn't work, they go away a lot. They have a
trailer and a camper van.
I've been many times to Canada
but I was flown back
an emergency
now they don't want me
he doesn't like coming over.
I wasn't with it.
I don't know what's wrong with me.
I haven't been here very long.
They won't take me any more.
It's a long time since I went out there.

on waking...

look at that lady's eyes!

pretty eyes
wonderful eyes
little bright eyes
blue eyes
there was a song called blue eyes

Here is a link to the pdf file that we made of all the images and our working notes.

email: paulabrownpublishing@btinternet.com

web: http://www.paulabrownpublishing.com