UNE-MGEC "Living Art - Living Well Studio" seminar series registration opens

Community health professionals/providers, health professions faculty, and students are invited to participate in the "Living Art - Living Well Studio" four-part seminar series. This series - sponsored by the University of New England Maine Geriatric Education Center (UNE-MGEC) in partnership with Cultural Resources, Inc. and the Maine Arts Commission - will include artist demonstration and facilitated discussion.

Living Art - Living Well Studio 1 takes place Thursday, December 9, 2010 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the University of New England Westbrook College of Health Professions (WCHP) Lecture Hall on UNE's Portland Campus. This seminar features one of the most gifted basket makers of the Passamaquoddy Nation, Molly Neptune Parker, and her grandson George Neptune.

Living Art - Living Well Studio is designed to increase awareness and knowledge regarding the impact of Art in Aging and how creativity matters to the health of the body, mind and spirit of older adults. Through a series of four seminars, Living Art - Living Well Studio offers participants the opportunity to explore the connection between traditional art, cultural legacy and life review; it also explores the role these play in health, aging and positive decision-making and how this informs the practice of health care.

Following the presentation, participants are invited to attend the opening reception for the Maine Arts Commissions' traveling exhibition "Two Times Ten: 20 Years of the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program" in Parker Pavilion, just outside the lecture hall. Featuring portraits of participating master artists and their apprentices, the exhibit will explore the role of the elder artist in preserving cultural traditions and the opportunity to meet featured artist Molly Neptune Parker and her grandson, George Neptune.

Molly Neptune Parker has devoted her life to practicing the brown ash and sweetgrass tradition and to passing it on to the next generation, including several children and grandchildren. As a child, Parker learned basket making from her mother and she continues the fancy basket tradition at her home on the shores of Lewey Lake in Indian Township, Maine. Her work is much sought after by collectors and has been featured in several exhibitions, including "North by Northeast." A Maine Arts Commission Traditional Arts Fellowship winner, Molly Neptune Parker is also the President of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance and a master teacher in the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program.

Living Art - Living Well Studio 2, 3 and 4 will take place at UNE in February, March and April 2011. Elder artists, dates and UNE locations are to be determined.

Registration fee for the Living Arts - Living Well Studio four-part seminar series is $45.00 for students and $65.00 for all others. Seating is limited, so early registration is recommended. For complete information and to register, visit http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=211882. For questions regarding registration, contact Kelly Alden at 207-602-2137 or kalden@une.edu. For seminar-related questions, please contact Judith Metcalf at 207-221-4459 or jmetcalf@une.edu. www.une.edu.