Above is a small sampling of the Memories in the Making art selected for the 2008 Art Auction.

Memories in the Making is a weekly art program sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association and hosted in assisted living communities, nursing facilities and adult day programs around the Chapter’s bi-state service area. Groups of 5 to 10 individuals are led by a trained, experienced volunteer artist and a facility staff person for a one-hour weekly art session. When the one we love who has dementia seems distant and lost, the magic of art often provides the perfect venue for communication and expression. Through Memories in the Making, individuals with Alzheimer's disease express with watercolor what they can no longer communicate with words. Even if only for a moment, memories stored deep within are resurrected. When someone with Alzheimer's disease is given the opportunity to paint a memory, amazing things happen.

The annual Memories in the Making Art Auction celebrates the lives and voices of the people involved in this program. The Art Auction, a fundraiser for the Alzheimer's Association - Heart of America Chapter, showcases these treasures and the stories behind our talented artists. The 2008 Art Auction was held Friday, April 18th at The Hobbs Building, a creative urban space in the West Bottoms of Kansas City. Guests enjoyed food from Feasts of Fancy and were entertained by the creative auctioneering tactics of George Nigro and his fellow auctioneers.

Ward & Ward Custom Picture Framing, Inc.donated their time, talent and materials to ingeniously frame all fifty-five pieces of art for the auction. The artwork itself was beautiful, but the addition of such incredible framing only enhanced the beauty of each individual piece. Ward & Ward Custom Picture Framing can be reached at 816-333-6459.

For more information about the Memories in the Making program, or to volunteer as a group facilitator, please contact Karen Clond at 913-831-3888 or karen.clond@alz.org.

2008 Memories in the Making Art Auction Photo Highlights

2008 Art Auction Masterpiece Sponsors
The Atterbury Family Foundation
Bank Midwest & The Dickinson Family
Garden Terrace at Overland Park
Gwyn Prentice and Andy Atterbury

Signature Sponsors
Inergy
Regnier Family  Foundations
Sunrise Assisted Living of Leawood
Village Shalom
Ward & Ward Custom Picture Framing, Inc.

Artist Sponsors
Brookdale Senior Living
Country Club Bank
Fleishman-Hillard
Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation

Palette Sponsors
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP
Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP