“The creative process is also a therapeutic one reminding us of how precious life is and how important it is for us to contribute lasting memories and objects of beauty for the next generations.” – Inspire Me!™ artist
The word “inspiration” means “the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative. ”We know that people living with movement disorders find relief some from symptoms when engaging in creative activities. We believe deeply in providing our community a platform to express themselves creatively and to be a source of inspiration for others in the movement disorder community.
That’s that concept between Inspire Me!™ Fair 2021 – an online auction culminating with an in-person event in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The idea was born from PMD Alliance Ambassador and friend Perry Heilman who found great solace from his PD symptoms and reality by creating rockscapes – a form of creative expression. He serves on the Inspire Me!™ committee alongside a handful of other special friends to PMD Alliance who share a passion for art. Inspire Me!™ has inspired committee member Clara Kluge to give back to PMD Alliance through her artwork. As she says, PD is her silver lining but PMD Alliance is her gold lining!
“Living with PD has given me the opportunity to freely express my creative side, be it painting, dancing or acting and the Alliance has given the platform to share my artwork with fellow people living with Parkinson’s,” says Kluge.
Inspire Me!™ will support PMD Alliance’s innovative programming which remains free but not without cost to the organization. Most importantly, this community art exhibit and fundraiser is an opportunity for those impacted by movement disorders to share and display their creative outlets and talents – painting stories of resilience and inspiration that we are thrilled to share with our community.
The online auction runs from July 26th through August 4th.
The live event will be held at St. Bede’s Episcopal Church in Santa Fe, NM on August 4th.
The very concept behind the Inspire Me! raffle is inspiring. In 2009, Perry Heilman was diagnosed with Parkinson disease.
A couple that Perry was friends with invited him to live with them in their house, in the northwest valley in Arizona. Two and a half acres of peace, quiet and nature.
In that space, Perry tapped into a side of himself he did not truly know existed: creativity.
Over three and a half years, Perry built a virtual rock park, including a half-mile long maze lined with rocks that he picked up and moved himself. In finding and creating this space, he saw clearly that living with Parkinson’s, while having its limitations, would not limit or define the life he wanted to live.
Perry has since become an Ambassador with PMD Alliance and it is through our relationship with him that Inspire Me! came to be.
We hope, as Perry did, that you find inspiration here and in your own lives.
