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A Letter of
Introduction . . .
About our volunteer
mission,
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Discovering the Creative Process
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We are Anne and Gary Wakenhut. For over a half a
century, we have been Discovering the
Creative Process.
Our mission with
Discovering the Creative
Process is to provide an environment
that supports this creative exploration for students of all ages, people
with educational and physical disabilities,
acute and chronic illnesses,
incarcerated felons and hospice patients.
We believe. . .
that the cosmos in which
we live is alive and
growing,
and that, by its very
nature, the ongoing evolution of our
cosmos creates conflict,
trauma, and difficulty.
We believe. . .
that the
creative process is a major component in our
evolving cosmos,
and that this creative process
offers unique possibilities for resolution of
conflict, trauma, and difficulty.
We believe. . .
that the
creative process is the means by which we as humans can:
·
Resolve our
differences and live in harmony
with each other and our environment.
·
Explore and
sensitively develop the resources
of our cosmos.
·
Explore
and develop our unique
individual potentials.
·
Heal our
physical and emotional pains.
Therefore we
volunteer our services to . . .
·
Educational settings (pre-school
through postgraduate) to teach, promote, and support the creative process.
·
Hospitals,
nursing facilities and
hospice organizations
to facilitate transitional and healing processes.
·
Programs and facilities for those with
physical, emotional, and intellectual
disabilities to assist the development of their unique potential.
·
Prisons
and jails to facilitate rehabilitation of
inmates.
·
Community organizations to
enhance their effectiveness.
·
Religious organizations (all
faiths) to help recognize, develop, and facilitate their creative
relationship with their supreme being.
We would
like you to meet some of the people
who have introduced us the art of
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Discovering
The Creative
Process.
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These young students with severe disabilities
taught us the simplicity of
Discovering the Creative Process.
They
showed us that music is indeed, the common language, and can speak
to all of us, regardless of our abilities.
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Our peak performance occurred on the day that “J”
(one of the most inquisitive of the students) dragged himself across the
floor to investigate the clarinet. Following his non-verbal suggestion,
we gave up the need to create perfect music and allowed him to manipulate
the keys. Joyous laughter erupted as he discovered his wonderful capacity
to change and influence the sounds.
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This is Mr. “C”, one of our most gentle
mentors, who peacefully led us in
Discovering the Creative
Process.
Plagued with an inability to complete a sentence, music became our
medium of communication. He introduced us to his wonderfully
rich heritage of Jewish music that we communally shared each
Tuesday. |
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In return, his soft smile and genuinely warm
hand shake gave us the important sense of true friendship, love, and
sharing.
We still recall the day we celebrated Hanukkah. A female
Episcopalian chaplain officiated. Gifted with the ability to sing in
Hebrew, she played the roll of the Jewish cantor, and I, the Yiddish
clarinet player as his daughter lit the Menorah candles.
Our peak performance occurred
the day of his passing. He was in a coma, and at a distance.
Unbelievably, the family cat demanded control of this parting performance,
She cued us where to sit, when to play, and what our pace should be.
Finally, satisfied with our offering, she lay down between her
departing master’s feet and slept.
That evening, after “C” had passed, we walked outside to be greeted by
a magnificent March night created just for us by him. The sky was
gorgeously illuminated by thousands of sparkling stars in clean, fresh 10
degree air.
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This is Ms “M”. She refused to die within the 6
months suggested by hospice. She illustrated
Discovering the Creative Process by living
five long additional years, teaching us that a terminal diagnosis is not a
ticket for death, but just another step in living our lives.
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Ms “M” lived in her own distant world, teaching us the importance of
traveling to her space rather than expecting her to come to ours.
However, on one occasion, she briefly, and with great command, returned to
our world.
Apparently tired of consistent flute playing, and with a voice all of
us sons recall, admonishingly stated, “That’s enough”, and we put the
flute away for the rest of the afternoon.
She also joined us from time to time as we played the Brahms
“Lullaby”. Possibly holding a long-ago child, she hummed its sweet tune.
We would also like you to meet “J”. He became a
teacher for Discovering the Creative
Process, and we the students, as he
introduced us to his performance of humility. We were attending a
training to become mentors in the Prison Creative Arts Project. Our tears
would not stop flowing, and the tightness in our chests refused to release
as he shared the pain of his lengthy incarceration and the doubtfulness of
his future as a newly released parolee.
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These young creators participated with us in a
Discovering the Creative Process
artist-in-residency program. After a morning
of exploring creativity with words, they wrote their own poems and shared
them with their classmates as we gently surrounded their efforts with
improvised notes. |
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Ms"R" taught us the truest essence of Discovering the Creative Process. An Afro-American woman of huge volume, she was a true
“spirit” within our presence.
The first day we walked into her room, we
almost missed her seated in the darkened corner, pulled curtains added to
her mysterious presence. With an inoperatible tumor the size of a
grapefruit on her neck, she didn’t speak . . . not because of the tumor
but because she, being a native of Haiti, did not speak our language.
As we began to play, our music radiated and
reverberated around and through the room and our instruments with an
ethereal essence we had never before experienced. Then, we began to hear
a beautifully illuminated crystal clear soprano voice humming from
somewhere way beyond. Soon the mystery of this beautiful luscious sound
was solved as we discovered this spiritual music was radiating from deep
within her huge presence.
We continued to visit her for several months,
and always felt great excitement and joy within us as we walked through
her always opened door. What an honor it was to be greeted by the warmth
of her spirit and the opportunity to come together as one by
Discovering
the Creative Process.
| Discovering
the Creative Process became a true reality
for us as these non-readers expanded their limited capacities through a
variety of creative activities.
Imagine their feelings of joy, excitement and success when they (as a
result of these creative activities) comprehended these confusing
symbols were words, read all the words in a sentence without
assistance, and then recognized these words revealed a whole story! |
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We were facilitating a church
training program for caregivers. The participants were divided into
pairs with one acting as listener (no words were to be spoken by the
listener). The speaker was given the opportunity to experience the
power of Discovering the Creative Process (continuing to talk without interruption often creates important new
awarenesses and directions) by verbally sharing his/her concerns over
assuming care giving responsibilities..
Ms “K”, one of the participants, was sharing
her unease about her relationship with her grandmother. This important
person in her life no longer acknowledged Ms “K”’s presence due to the
tragedy of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. Ms K. had reached the
point where she could no longer spend time with her grandmother (due to
her grandmother’s extreme deterioration), and Ms “K” was feeling extreme
guilt.
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As
she talked about her concerns, she suddenly broke into tears with a new
awareness. She had been unwilling to let go of her old image of her
grandmother and accept her as she was. A new direction occurred as she
realized there did not have to be verbal interaction. What her
grandmother really needed was someone to just sit and hold her hand.
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Would you like to become
involved in
Discovering the
Creative Process
and
help to:
-
Resolve our
differences and live in harmony
with each other and our environment
-
Explore and
sensitively develop the resources
of our cosmos.
-
Explore and
develop the unique individual potentials of
others.
-
Heal our
physical and emotional pains.
You can
help us by:
Participating with us in
Discovering The
Creative Process (as an individual or through your
family, church, business,
organization, etc.)
Providing us with contacts who can utilize
Discovering The Creative
Process services.
Financially supporting
our efforts with
Discovering The Creative
Process.
Assisting us with a health insurance policy.
Contact us to
learn more about this volunteer mission
Discovering the Creative Process
Anne W. Wakenhut, MA, Certified Music
Practitioner
Gary W. Wakenhut, MA, Certified Music
Practitioner
Phone: 989-352-6996 Email:
share@collectingconsort.com
website:
www.collectingconsort.com
7363 W. Edgar Rd., Lakeview, MI 48850
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