The Memory Care floor at Ashland City’s Vantage Pointe Village recently received a very unique donation. Late last month, Jeff Knott, the longtime art teacher at Cheatham Middle School, put his artistic talents to work by painting murals on the walls for patients to enjoy.
Knott was approached about the painting gig by Vantage Pointe’s Christine Fleming, the director of sales. During their first meeting, Fleming took him to what’s known as Memory Care, the second floor unit where patients with Alzheimers or other memory-related impairments reside, and shared with him her vision and wishes for the project.
“I could tell she had a special passion for Memory Care,” Knott says of Fleming.
He could also tell there were more wishes than funding.
The decision to donate the time and materials was an easy one for Knott. “My mother, an artist, had a big influence on my artistic skill. She also suffered from Alzheimer’s,” he said. “This was my chance to pay her back.”
On September 30, just a few hours into the project, Knott came to the realization that he was painting the murals on the anniversary of his mother’s passing. “It was amazing,” he reflected.
On five different walls, Knott used acrylic paint and an air brush to create scenes he felt would be most appreciated. He chose a barn and a truck, some trees, a house with a swing, and a large scene with a barn, house, rolling hills, a dirt road, and a church.
“I wanted to paint pictures that may bring back memories of the residents’ younger years,” says Knott.
According to Fleming, the murals have been a big hit with the residents and their families.
With the assistance of his wife Christy, the entire project took Knott 13 hours to complete. The results, he hopes, are something that residents will enjoy for many years to come.
