The creative courage of hospice: When art, aging and death make beautiful music together

Who knew Vermont had its own private army? It's not your average force but it's a mighty one, which summons a brand of fearlessness most of us assume we do not possess, conquering terrain the typical citizen dare not tread upon and looking death calmly in the face on a regular basis. It's called hospice, a brave brigade of folks who take time out of their lives to help make the experience of dying a peaceful, private and enriching process for patients, caregivers and loved ones.

And, like so many aspects of Vermont culture, hospice isn't one-dimensional, for its participants wear many hats, often integrating personal talents and passions into the remarkably generous, soulful work they do with families experiencing an imminent loss.

Filmmaker Camilla Rockwell, who is based in Burlington, is one of these intrepid artists, a visionary woman who has not only surmounted the trepidation so many of us have around the issue of death by becoming a hospice volunteer but who has also utilized her creative acumen to illuminate and celebrate what is a universal and ever-timely topic.

A 14-year veteran at Florentine Films, the production company of documentary guru Ken Burns, Rockwell set out on her own 10 years ago and her latest film, "Holding Our Own: Embracing The End of Life," looks at aging and dying through a bold yet compassionate lens, with a focus on how art can enhance the journey.

The film explores the remarkably reverent, meticulous portraits of the dying that renowned local fiber artist Deidre Scherer creates and the positively divine intonations of Hallowell, a Windham County choral group that devotes most of its musical artistry to hospice, following both artist and singers from bedside to bereavement.

A week from today, on Thursday, April 5, there will be a screening and discussion of the film at 8 p.m. at the Latchis Theater in Brattleboro, benefiting Brattleboro Hospice Services and featuring a live performance by Hallowell, which is itself an entirely transformative experience you don't want to miss.

When I asked Rockwell how she came to make a film about hospice work, she said "I just wanted to face aging and dying and all my anxieties around it, so I decided that, rather than running away from it, I'd just dive in and focus on it."

So she embarked on a hospice volunteer training program and, after learning of Scherer and Hallowell and how they augment the dying process with their visual and aural artistry, decided to make a documentary about this unusual fusion of life's most profound experience with creative expression.

"Just being able to work with Deidre and Hallowell made me feel more committed," Rockwell said. "I was thrilled about how they bring art and music into hospice services."

Scherer, a consummate craftswoman whose work deftly straddles the line between fine art and fabric mastery, is to sewing what Chuck Close is to painting. Her vibrant, exquisitely complex figures have been shown in fine art, science and craft museums around the world and, without question, merit scholarly appreciation from each discipline.

As the depth and detail of her work suggests, Scherer's path to the elderly took shape early on.

"I remember as a kid looking with wonder at my great-grandfather, who was in his 90s", she said. "Later, it became evident in my art that there was a pull there and I wanted to be open to my biases and fears, as well as a celebration, of aging."

Add to that influence the fact that her father - who is now 92 - was a diorama painter for New York's American Museum of Natural History and it's obvious that Scherer's very DNA is coded with artistic prowess, making this merging of skill and sentiment a perfect amalgam.

Already deeply honored by the invitation to sketch her often frail models, having Rockwell document this close relationship with her subjects has great meaning for Scherer, as does the overall collaborative process of working with fellow artists like Hallowell.

"It's about taking two art forms and using them for a similar purpose, to witness and be present during this amazing transition" she affirms, adding "I listen with my pencil."

The musical element spoke to Rockwell as well, so much so that she's now a member of one of the many sister hospice choirs that exist in Vermont, devoting her voice to making death more tranquil and positive.

Rockwell also had a personal impetus in becoming a part of hospice and sees it as a family philosophy. "When my father died, hospice came in and it made it much easier", she said. "My sister was also a hospice nurse and now my mother, who's 82, is a hospice volunteer."

Susan Parris, executive director of Brattleboro Hospice Services for the past 11 years, also came to hospice work through personal experience.

"It made a huge difference for my family," she attests. "I'd always had a huge curiosity about death and, after going on that journey with my father, I signed up for the volunteer training."

Brattleboro Hospice Services serves approximately 80 families a year with hospice care and more than 700 individuals with counseling. Founded in 1979, it offers everything from companionship to the dying and respite for loved ones, to loans of hospital beds and transportation to appointments.

The volunteer training at Brattleboro Hospice Services is, according to Parris, the most comprehensive in the country and presents various options to volunteers, including walking patients' dogs, cooking meals, emotional support for loved ones and end-of-life vigils.

Having been a beneficiary of hospice services when my mother passed way, I've experienced the tremendous strength and encouragement these folks bring to the families they serve.

I recall one very difficult night when I called the hospice at 3 a.m., out of concern for my mother's comfort. The on-call volunteer appeared 20 minutes later, bleary eyed but perceptibly sensitive to what we were enduring.

After increasing Mum's pain medication, she stood with her arms around us and said quietly "What you're doing for your mother - allowing her to be here, in her own living room, surrounded by her family - is the greatest gift you can give her … and you're doing a wonderful job."

It was exactly what we needed: Someone who'd done this before to basically pat us on the head and assure us that we were doing right by our mother.

I'd never experienced that potency of unconditional support and tenderness before. The only thing possibly missing from that life-changing experience was the caring creativity of someone like Scherer or the emotive tones of hospice singers such as Hallowell.

Kathy Leo, Hallowell's artistic director, describes the meaning of their work. "For us, it is a great honor to be invited into the intimate space of one's passing, of a family's well of grief and to be able to sing songs of healing and grace into this space."

Hallowell's richly layered original compositions, American shape-note songs, international harmonies and traditional hymns create a soothing environment for families, often instigating a release of emotion that may otherwise remain bottled up.

One of Hallowell's original songs, named after the choir, poignantly articulates the message they seek to impart:

I thought when someone died,
the spirit flew over furthest field.
Now I see death will leave behind
a scrap of light, a broken smile,
the remnants by which
I might be healed.

Rockwell captures her motivation with equal eloquence. "Our culture does not talk about death well and that is what this film is all about."