[Art_beyond_sight_learning_tools] AEB in the news and a blind graphic designer

[Lisa Yayla]

Hi,
Another article about AEB in Pittsburgh and an article about
a blind graphic designer from Burmingham U.K.



http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/entertainment/arts/museums/s_261948.html
http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/mail/tm_objectid=14759535&method=full&siteid=50002&headline=blind-artist-paul-reaches-for-the-stars--name_page.html
>From Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Blind children take alternative approach to art appreciation
Most people experience art in more or less the same way. We
can stand back and take it all in. Then, after a little
reflective contemplation -- chin scratching is optional --
we often tend to zero in on the details that look the most
interesting. We can compare it with the millions of images
stored in our brain, and define its meaning in accordance
with what we know.

The blind also have image banks in their memories -- they
just develop them in different ways. Sound and feel play a
bigger part in understanding visual information. With that
thought, the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children
invited local artist Robert Qualters to participate in "Art
Beyond Sight Awareness Week" on Thursday morning. The
project is an international initiative to help blind
students develop pictorial literacy by creating art
themselves.

"One of our goals is to get children to make choices," says
Carol Kreiser, the school's art teacher. "Because, when
you're limited physically, a lot of the time, your choices
are limited. So we work on a lot of skills in art, which is
fun, so it's kind of sneaky. We're having fun, and they get
to mess around with different materials. 

"But they're also developing their life skills. To be able
to do Braille, or distinguish which dish you want to eat,
you need to develop your tactile skills."

Qualters and the students -- ranging from ages 10 to 18 --
worked on sculpting apples. This isn't the first time
Qualters, who's primarily a painter, has sculpted here. He's
even sculpted food here before -- his "food arch" stands in
the children's garden at the school, festooned with ceramic
spaghetti and corn, and dangling grapes. Students of all
ages like to touch it and figure out which is which.

At Thursday's session, Qualters read a poem by Gail Ghai
that inspired a painting of his, of a sliced-open apple on a
bright September afternoon. He asked the students to respond
to the poem's vivid, descriptive imagery: 

<I>Somewhere between tart and tantalize

the taste of citrus and salt, crisp ...</I>

Jason Jones, a very talkative 15-year-old, jumped in with
the first response: "You're making me hungry. ... You own my
attention." 

Kreiser gave the students as much Model Magic clay as they
wanted. 

Terry McCorkle, 18, became a virtual assembly line for
grapes and bananas. Jamie Garner, 20, made a perfect apple,
complete with stem and leaves, with a little help from a
teacher.

Qualters asked Seth Dunbar, 11, what he wanted to make.
"Venison," Seth replied matter-of-factly. 

Not all of the students' visual impairments are at the same
level; more than a few have at least partial sight. 

"You have to present them with choices that make sense to
them," Kreiser says. "I have one student who's colorblind. I
always have to remember not to ask him what color he wants.
I have to ask if he wants light or dark. Because to him, red
and purple are the same. Yellow he can see, but it's still
gray to him. But it's a lighter gray than blue."

Of the day's events, she says, "Sculpture is very good for
them, because it gives them something they can touch.

"I think it's important to make something of your own, to
point to something and say, 'I did this.'"



                      Evening Mail




                     Blind artist Paul reaches for the
stars! 
                     Oct 15 2004

                      
                                                               

                     Graphic designer and artist Paul Jorden
had the kind of life
                     many would envy.

                     A loving wife with a good career and a
healthy little boy who
                     clearly worshipped him.

                     But two years ago 33-year-old Paul's
eyesight began to fail
                     and he is now registered blind after
being diagnosed with a
                     crippling form of muscular dystrophy.

                     But instead of giving in to his
condition Paul continued with his
                     art.

                     He has now created a special painting
to celebrate the Star
                     Wars films which he is selling to help
muscular dystrophy
                     charities.

                     Paul, who used to count Linda McCartney
Foods, Virgin's Sir
                     Richard Branson and comedian Lenny
Henry among his clients,
                     approached Star Wars producer Lucasfilm
to see if it would
                     licence his painting.

                     He couldn't believe it when a phone
call came from America
                     saying the firm would be happy to back
his idea.

                     Now Paul, who paints a lot from memory,
hopes his charity will
                     encourage others to donate their
artwork. He wants to raise
                     up to £11,000 each for both the
Muscular Dystrophy Campaign
                     in the UK and the Muscular Dystrophy
Association in the US.

                     "I couldn't believe it when Lucasfilms
contacted me," said
                     lifelong Star Wars fan Paul, who took
his art and technical
                     drawing A-levels two years early
because teachers recognised
                     his talent. "It's been a turning point
for me. I've had some bad
                     times coming to terms with what has
happened but this has
                     given me the strength to carry on,"
added Paul, whose wife
                     Julia is a personnel officer with the
West Midlands Fire Service.

                     Paul was diagnosed with his condition
as Julia found out she
                     was pregnant with James, now two.

                     Paul is selling 1,000 limited editions
of his print for £25 each.
                     Anyone interested can visit
www.muscularart donations.co.uk.
                     ..SUPL: