Worthing art show explores the creativity that can come with Parkinson's

SussexWorld

Self-taught artist Nicolette Amos finds she can control some of the symptoms of Parkinson’s when she starts to paint.

Transcript

00:00 Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor for Sussex Newspapers.

00:06 Lovely to be speaking to Nicolette. Now Nicolette, you are organising a fabulous sounding exhibition

00:11 at Colonnade House in Worthing from August 1st to 12th. Now it's the first ever exhibition

00:17 for the Worthing and Washington Parkinson's UK group. And it's a number of artists who've

00:23 come together. And you were saying that, surprisingly in many ways, there is an increase in creativity

00:30 with a Parkinson's diagnosis very often, isn't there? Have you found that to be the case

00:35 for you?

00:36 Yes, definitely. When I was diagnosed, I did a little bit of painting to start off with,

00:44 but then once I was diagnosed, I just felt the need that I had to do something creative.

00:51 And I started doing watercolour paintings, coloured pencil paintings, and then I've got

00:57 into acrylics and I've done sort of abstract paintings, all sorts of different styles.

01:05 But one of my favourite things to paint is the jellyfish.

01:08 Oh, fantastic.

01:09 Which people seem to like. Strange subject, but they go down well with people.

01:15 No, you've got to find your thing. But it's so interesting, you said that it was a need.

01:19 Tell me more about that need. Did you not feel the need to do art before the diagnosis,

01:24 do you think?

01:25 Not really, no. I didn't really do much art. It was just a compulsion. It might be something

01:34 to do with the drugs they give you, or the way your brain has changed slightly. I think

01:39 it's something to do with the dopamine.

01:42 But is it therapeutic as well? Does it help in terms of managing symptoms?

01:49 It does. It does. A lot of people find that if they've got trembling hands and that, there's

01:55 myself and another lady in the group, when we're doing art, our hands don't tremble at

02:00 all.

02:01 It's fantastic, isn't it? So it does sort of focus the concentration that you need.

02:06 You're so in on it and you're just lost in what you're doing. And it's very therapeutic.

02:12 And you were saying that you kind of knew before your diagnosis what it was, didn't

02:17 you? You recognised it, sadly.

02:19 I did, yeah, because my dad had Parkinson's, so I knew what symptoms he'd had. But not

02:26 everyone has the same symptoms.

02:28 Did that make it easier for you to cope, do you think?

02:33 To cope?

02:34 Yeah.

02:35 I think so, because it wasn't terribly, terribly bad with Parkinson's. So, I don't know, sorry.

02:50 So it's lovely to bring this group together for the exhibition. And clearly, you've got

02:53 a number of people taking part, which is great, isn't it?

02:57 Yes, it's for people with Parkinson's and also their carers as well. So not everybody

03:03 in the group actually has Parkinson's, but we just have an art group every two weeks

03:13 and every month.

03:14 Excuse the coughing, sorry. What's the hope with the exhibition then? What do you want

03:19 to achieve?

03:20 Well, we'd like to raise enough money to donate to Parkinson's UK to help find a cure.

03:28 Fantastic. Well, good luck with that. It's at Colonnade House in Worthing from August

03:33 1st to 12th. Lovely to speak to you and I hope it goes brilliantly.

03:38 Thank you very much.

03:39 Thank you.

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