Although just under 11 inches in diameter, the embroidery on this month's cover, entitled Windows and Doors, took nurse and artist Paula Giovanini-Morris two years to complete. The idea for the piece, which was created using DMC embroidery floss, metallic floss, and seed beads, was sparked when Giovanini-Morris was visiting her elderly mother, who was suffering from the early stages of dementia.
"Windows and Doors explores the concept of memory," she says. "The 'windows and doors' in this brain speak visually to the places I imagine my 'snapshots' or memories of personal life events are placed for safekeeping, allowing for later reflection and meaning in my life journey."
While watching her mother search for words to express herself and try to recall the previous days' activities, Giovanini-Morris "was struck by a sadness" that led her to investigate how the brain works in the specific area of memory. "While stitching the piece, I had ample time to contemplate my memories and the possibility that I would also have dementia as I aged," she said.
Giovanini-Morris currently works as a family NP at Big Horn Urgent Care and Occupational Medicine in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and at Miramont Urgent Care and Lifestyle Medicine in Fort Collins, Colorado. Her work has appeared in numerous galleries and national and international juried art shows, as well as in Shuttle Spindle and Dyepot magazine and in AJN (Art of Nursing, August 2005). For more about dementia, see this month's CE feature, "Strategies for Feeding Patients with Dementia."-Alison Bulman, senior editorial coordinator