(Dewey 740 – Art as Load-Bearing Wall). Summary (for orientation):
Dormant does not mean unfinished. This entry explains how art functions as adaptive architecture in my life with dementia.
Tru here. This entry is by Truthful Loving Kindness (my full legal name) for https://truthfulkindness.com/. For comments or questions, please use that website. Writing is harder. i started using “Grammarly” to edit last month, but it sacrifices my particular writing style, so last week began using edit help from ChatGPT, which improves readability and reduces the time I spend in the writing process, but retains my writing style. I am still on the free version of this blog, which means more ads. I am working to move to the paid version to avoid advertisements.
Recently I was looking at one of my winter tree paintings and at first I felt that familiar tug —
“it isn’t finished.”
The branches were visible.
No leaves.
White space in the center.
Bud-like tips, but no bloom.
For a moment my brain labeled it incomplete.
But then something shifted.
Dormant is not unfinished.
Winter is not failure.
Architecture before abundance is still architecture.
740 Winter Architecture
When my dementia symptoms first began, comparison became dangerous territory.
I had once drawn full architectural blueprints.
Submitted an entire set for our ADA Craftsman-style home.
(See Arts n Crafts Link in bottom section of blog.)
If I compare those drawings to what my hands can do now, I shrink.
If I compare earlier writing to present writing, I hesitate to continue.
Comparison drains life.
Creating restores it.
I have said more than once:
“Creating makes me feel alive.”
That was true before diagnosis.
It became essential afterward.
Over the years, art has changed form — but not function.
When tremors took my ability to tune my nevel harp, grief poured through my fingers.
Later, digital tools allowed me to stabilize those tremors and continue shaping color in “Harp of my Heart.”
(See “Harp of my Heart” Link in bottom section of blog.)
The instrument changed.
The medium changed.
The alive-ness did not.
When depth perception made eating messy, crochet collars became strategy. (See “Bib-Collar” Link in bottom section of blog.)
When memory interfered with crafting, I removed cabinet doors and used clear containers. (See “Crafting Tips” Link in bottom section of blog.)
Art is not separate from strategy.
It is adaptive architecture.
Even our cracked concrete kitchen floor became art.
(See “Floor as Memory Project” Link in bottom section of blog.)
The cracks were dramatic.
Nine years later, we turned them into a family footprint installation.
What could have been flaw became foundation.
That seems to be a recurring theme in my life.
Looking back, I notice something consistent in my art:
Curves dominate.
Swirls and curls.
Straight lines mostly connect the curves.
Arts n Crafts
Contained perimeters.
Complex interiors.
White space that allows breathing room.
Even my hearts are structured vessels, not sentimental overflow.
Even my trees reveal branches before bloom.
Structure holding through season.
So when I looked again at that winter tree, I stopped asking,
“Is it finished?”
And instead asked,
“What season is it in?”
Dormancy is honest.
Visible branches are honest.
Bud tips without leaves are honest.
In some ways, winter architecture may be the truest form — because you can see the structure clearly.
And perhaps that is what art has become for me:
A load-bearing wall.
Not decoration.
Not hobby.
Not busy-work.
Art is the architectural extension of self when language thins.
It is how I regulate intensity.
How I translate grief into pattern.
How I embed love into material.
How I remain.
Creating is not what I do.
It is how I remain.
Closing Question
Is there something in your life that feels “unfinished” —
that might simply be in its winter season?
What would shift if you viewed it as dormant architecture rather than failure?
— Truthful Loving Kindness
Associated Links on my own Blogsite: (2014-2021)
Attached Picture:
This painting: Digital painting by me, finished on 22Jan2026, titled “Winter Architecture”. Created in Procreate using the stabilization tool to compensate for tremors. Alcohol ink–style brushes by Alaina Jensen were used to emulate fluid alcohol ink movement with Apple Pencil Pro. Final line work completed using Procreate’s default “Syrup” brush. Created as part of my ongoing work as a person living with Lewy body dementia, where art functions as adaptive architecture. Higher resolution image of painting available at my Flickr portfolio at >> https://www.flickr.com/photos/194191353@N04/ << .
Administrative Notes
I did not track the exact hours invested in this entry. Writing began four days ago, with an additional three days devoted to the artwork.
The subscription box now appears at the bottom of each blog entry.
My full legal name is Truthful Loving Kindness.
My current formal diagnosis remains Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). However, due to long-term functional losses — including loss of employment and driver’s license — my Primary Care Physician and several other medical professionals consider my condition more consistent with progressive dementia. My symptoms primarily reflect Lewy body and vascular patterns, including REM sleep behavior disorder, hallucinations, and cognitive fluctuation.
Brain imaging (SPECT and PET) has shown significant temporal lobe involvement, creating overlap with logopenic variant Primary Progressive Aphasia (a subtype within the frontotemporal spectrum).
After years of specialist consultations, my family and I chose to discontinue further diagnostic pursuit. Travel distance and emotional cost outweighed potential benefit. My lived experience of neurologic change continues regardless of terminology.
A current working theory for contributing factors includes 33 years of undiagnosed tick-borne illness (Lyme and Babesia), followed by five years of intensive treatment, along with probable nocturnal seizures.
Text copyright © Truthful L. Kindness, 23 Feb 2026.
Painting copyright © Truthful L. Kindness, 22 Jan 2026.
You can learn more under the “About Me” tab (which is due for updating).
Comments are welcome. Please filter responses through truthful loving kindness toward all concerned.
Editing assistance: I currently use ChatGPT to improve readability and reduce writing time while retaining my voice and authorship.
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categ: Arts&Crafts, important, crucial, journal, and symptoms. tags: adaptive art, arts and crafts, assistive technology in art, cognitive fluctuation, digital art with tremor, dormancy, Lewy Body Dementia, living with dementia, resilience through art, structure and identity, winter architecture. Add to Pgs/??. S&S Categ: 1) identity, 2) purpose, 3) hobbies, and 4) hope.
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