Janette Gerber
"Open to Brain Plasticity"
|
|
|
| (Photos by Patrick Fraser) |
Brain plasticity refers to the ability of the brain to change itself, to rewire.
This work is an expression of my gratitude for the professionals of the many healing paths I have taken to get my “Self” back, post injury and concussion. The umbrella, made of constructed cloth, is a loose representation of the synapses made by our magnificent brains. From the head spring many of the symptoms which occur simultaneously. Think of the inside of a telephone cable, with multiple colored wires, that has been torn open and scrambled into a huge tangle of wires, bare in spots and shorting out as they touch.
Each of the eight sections of the umbrella is devoted to a phase of healing with dangling visual representations of some of the healing steps, a process that is ongoing.
This is a very brief summary of a long and difficult internal invisible injury and journey. Integrating Traditional Medicine and Alternative Therapies, I built a dancelike interweaving of complimentary approaches, each working toward the common goal of brain plasticity.
Dr. Deborah Zelinsky O.D. referred me to Cognitive Therapist Donalee Marcus who said that her exercises would result in the return of the “pictures in my head.” It is a frightful loss for an artist to lose the pictures. Mine had gone, along with my creativity, in the moment of the crash nearly three years ago. Cognitive exercises brought the pictures back.