Playful process art, dignity, and aging.

One goal for 2026 is to bring new and fresh perspectives to this space around creative play and artful making. I’m so grateful I had a chance to talk with Harper Marten of The Arts of Aging last week. We are working to have the full video conversation available for our subscribers ASAP, but we didn’t want to wait any longer to introduce you to Harper’s playful, creative approach to process art with those experiencing dementia. When I sat down to talk with Harper, I knew we’d be speaking about art, play, and process. But what struck me most was the conversation around choice, dignity, and agency in offering these process art experiences to both children as well as older adults in their 70s, 80s, and beyond. And of course this is where the conversation went, because we know that a creative experience is so much more than the product.

Harper came to this work through a “spiraling path.” After years of teaching elementary art and then diving deep into the Montessori approach, her life shifted when her father began experiencing dementia. As she stepped into the role of care partner while raising two young children, she leaned on what she already knew: art as a way to communicate, connect, and remain human together. She described those early moments simply and honestly: “It was absolutely just me feeling my way through the dark.” Harper described a kit of materials that she would bring on her visits with her kids in tow. The materials became a generational bridge and an opportunity to be side by side, creating, without objective or pressure. Curious about what she was offering to her father, Harper began a conversation with the programming director of the community where her dad lived about bringing more process-focused experiences to other residents in the space. What emerged wasn’t just a program or an approach, but a deep understanding of what creative experiences can offer when so much control has already been taken away.