Solo Arts Heal with Hannah Garrison

Solo Arts Heal with Hannah Garrison

AnCan and The Marsh (well renown, long-established theater company with a large following in the Bay Area and venues in San Francisco and Oakland) collaborate every 4th Wednesday of the month for Solo Arts Heal!

Our guest for September was one of our very own – Hannah Garrison!

Hannah, who lives with multiple sclerosis (MS), took a blank canvas and created a piece of visual art throughout the show as she is interviewed by Rick Davis, with questions from the audience.

San Antonio, Texas-based artist Hannah received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2014. Undiagnosed symptoms of MS started creeping into her life, resulting in a few tumultuous years. Her symptoms accelerated in severity in the spring of 2017; that summer she received her diagnosis. An identity crisis ensued, and she found that using the arts as meditation and therapy helped her to not only heal but also to become a better caregiver.

Being honest about her diagnosis to complete strangers was not only effective medicine for her but for them as well. She now teaches visual arts to those who are chronically ill—to those living with cancer, MS, and more. Inside hospitals, she creates large window paintings for patients at their bedside and has witnessed the life-changing effects of art combined with an empathetic ear. She teaches AnCan’s virtual arts classes and has been virtually teaching the arts through various other organizations since 2020, during the height of the pandemic.

Watch here:

 

 

 

To SIGN UP for any of our AnCan Virtual Support group reminders, visit our Contact Us page.

Summer of Art – September 15th Class – Oil Pastels

Summer of Art – September 15th Class – Oil Pastels

Summer of Art – September 15th Class – Oil Pastels

 

On September 15th, Hannah Garrison (Artist, MS activist, and moderator for our MS virtual support group) brought her magic back to AnCan. We made different types of Owls with oil pastels, and in keeping true to the education part in our tagline (Advocacy Support Education), we learned a lot about Owls. You can click here to learn some of the facts we went over! We encourage you to name your owl, and make it as colorful as you’d like!

 

What you will need:

  • Oil Pastels
  • Paper
  • Pastel Blender
  • Paper Towel/Napkin

 

Watch the class here:

 

Funding for this project was provided by the HealtheVoices Impact Fund at the Community Foundation of New Jersey, which was funded by a contribution from Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

 

Would you like your art featured in the AnCan Art Gallery? please email me at alexa (at) ancan.org!

To SIGN UP for any of our AnCan Virtual Support groups, visit our Contact Us page.

Webinar: Mental Health and Multiple Sclerosis

Webinar: Mental Health and Multiple Sclerosis

On August 31st, we had an incredible webinar tilted Mental Health and Multiple Sclerosis. Featuring Dr. Lauren Strober (Senior research scientist in the Center for Neuropsychology & Neuroscience Research at Kessler Foundation and assistant professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Rutgers University New Jersey Medical School), Carly Podzikowski, and Kim Stroeh for tips and tricks on how to “feel” through the emotions that come and go with the crazy ride that is Multiple Sclerosis.

You might even feel like you’re always getting a “new normal”. Sometimes it can feel like a wild roller coaster ride if you’re not prepared. Let us offer a little guidance on how to go with the flow and how to change course when you need to. We’ll be talking about emotions and grief throughout different stages of an MS diagnosis – whether you were just diagnosed last week or last decade (and beyond!).

Learning how to deal with all aspects of this illness is a challenge, but we’ll walk you through some adaptive strategies.

 

Watch it all here:

 

 

To view the slides from this webinar, click here for powerpoint, and here for pdf.

For information on our peer-led video chat VIRTUAL SUPPORT GROUPS, click here.

To SIGN UP for any of our for Multiple Sclerosis Virtual Support groups, visit our Contact Us page.

Webinar: Mental Health and Multiple Sclerosis

Webinar: Prostate Cancer Biopsies…The Great Debate!

We had a fascinating webinar on August 29th, a debate on whether transrectal biopsies or transperineal biopsies are better for prostate cancer patients.

Don’t know the difference? No problem, this webinar will give lots of food for thought, and plenty to take back to the doctor’s office with you!

Deborah Kaye, MD, Assistant Professor Duke University Division of Urology and Duke Clinical Research Institute Margolis Policy Center, argued for transrectal biopsies. Arvin George, MD, a urologic surgeon specializing in the diagnosis and management of genitourinary cancers at University of Michigan Health, argued for transperineal procedures.

We have been reading all your feedback and taking it to heart, you want more information on this topic. To quote Rick Davis- “we hear ya!!”, and we are working on it.

Watch here:

 

 

 

Special thanks to Janssen, Pfizer, Bayer, Foundation Medicine, and Advanced Accelerator Applications for sponsoring this webinar.

 

 

We are working on slides – check back later.

To SIGN UP for any of our AnCan Virtual Support groups, visit our Contact Us page.

Summer of Art – August 30 Class – Watercolor Pencils

Summer of Art – August 30 Class – Watercolor Pencils

Summer of Art – August 30 Class – Watercolor Pencils

On August 30th, we had so much fun once again with our very own Hannah Garrison (Artist, MS activist, and moderator for our MS virtual support group). Hannah taught us in the ins and outs of watercolor pencils, and also showed how basic scribbling can create beautiful things!

We still have spots for the September 15th class – Click here to sign up!

 

What you will need:

 

Watch the class here:

Funding for this project was provided by the HealtheVoices Impact Fund at the Community Foundation of New Jersey, which was funded by a contribution from Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

 

Would you like your art featured in the AnCan Art Gallery? please email me at alexa (at) ancan.org!

To SIGN UP for any of our AnCan Virtual Support groups, visit our Contact Us page.