[Art_beyond_sight_learning_tools] articles- art, artist, rockets,
exhibits, bumps on roads
Lisa Yayla
fnugg at online.no
Thu Jul 14 16:01:59 CDT 2005
Hi,
Sending some links with articles and sites following. One site that is
interesting is John Bramblitt's. He is an artist who is blind and in his
site he shows and tells about his process. Also a couple of articles
about him
Regards,
Lisa
http://www.kansascitykansan.com/articles/2005/07/13/news/local/news13.txt
http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/stories/MYSA071305.1P.lighthouse.600ae62e.html
http://www.sfbg.com/39/41/art_c_art_blindatthemuseum.html
http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0528/050713_arts_vacalendar.php
http://www.theroyalgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050711/LIFESTYLE/107110112
http://www.theage.com.au/news/arts/just-a-breath-away--a-goat/2005/07/12/1120934233696.html?oneclick=true
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,585-1691367,00.html
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/7/prwebxml258932.php
http://www.axcessnews.com/technology_071205.shtml
John Bramblitt exhibit
http://www.unt.edu/union/galleryexhibits.htm
2 pictures from exhibit http://www.unt.edu/union/bramblitt.htm
link to Bramblitts site, very interesting
http://www.bramblitt.com/
article from Fort Worth
http://www.bramblitt.com/startelegram.htm
http://www.bramblitt.com/shreveport.htm
http://www.ntdaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/01/18/41ecb43e62f73?in_archive=1
Art camp gives children unique experience
ABOVE: Second from right, Kit Bardwell, an instructor at Accessible Arts
Summer Camp taking place at 1100 State Ave., plays the auto harp Monday,
while children sing along. Disabled and non-disabled children, 7 to 13
years old, including five from Kansas City, Kan., are participating in
the camp, which will teach them about diverse cultures through music,
dance, drama and art. The camp will be offered again July18 through the 22.
By BRANT STACY
Kansan Staff Writer
Diverse cultures will be explored this week at the first Accessible Arts
Summer Camp being held at Kansas State School for the Blind, 1100 State Ave.
The camp, which will continue from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. until Friday and
again, July 18 through the 22, is open to disabled and non-disabled
children 7 to 13 years old. Fifteen children are enrolled in this weeks
program that will allow them to experience cultures through art
projects, music and drama. Martin English, executive director, said the
most important aspect of this camp is that it's all inclusive.
"We feel that it's very important that children with or without
disabilities experience the arts together," English said. "It's good for
the children with disabilities because they get to do activities for
which they are often excluded."
English said four other volunteers plus himself will guide the children
in a variety of arts activities. Children will learn about Australian
cultures (Aborigne and British settlers) the first week and the ancient
culture of Japan the second week. Each Friday, the children will present
a production for parents about the cultures they learned about during
the week, he said.
"The production will really emphasize process over product," English
said. "They are doing some really cool stuff"
Beverly Johnson, communications coordinator, said the camp was an
outgrowth of the 99 Drum program the school hosts in April. She said
funding for the camp was made possible through various donations.
"We received money from an anonymous donor," Johnson said. "We also
received enough donations so we could give some scholarships to several
of the children."
Johnson said the camp costs $250 per week and some children attend both
sessions. There is a sibling discount offered for $125.
"Up until now, all of our programs have been funded by outside
agencies," Johnson said. "This one is self supporting. That's why we
were exceptionally pleased when people stepped up and donated money for
scholarships."
English said Accessible Arts is different because it is a camp geared at
children with disabilities, but does not mention a disability in its name.
"There are a lot of camps for children with disabilities," English said.
"Most children don't want to be identified with their disability. They'd
rather be identified with their interests."
Johnson said this camp is perfect for children with disabilities like
dyslexia, mobility issues, Down's Syndrome, autism and developmental
problems. She said the arts tend to get them to come out of their shell.
"The arts generate a lot of enthusiasm," Johnson said. "Arts gets them
moving and attracts attention. It's fun, and those non-disabled children
interact as well. Everyone is encouraged to participate."
Johnson said she hopes the program will continue next summer. She said
it's all based on how successful the camp is this summer.
"We'd like to have the camp grow and we are certainly committed to doing
it one more year."
To enroll for the July 18 through 22 camp, call (913) 281-1133 or go to
www.accessiblearts.org
San Antonio Express, Texas
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Memories inspire visually impaired artists to create
By Nishat Fatima
For her recent birthday bash, Ernestine Ruiz sketched a caricature of a
pouty, sixtysomething woman for a lighthearted game of "pin the reading
glasses on the old lady."
She spent hours perfecting every crease and strand of hair in the
picture, which she captioned "I'm only 40!"
However, once her friends saw the drawing, they refused to use it in the
game. They were so impressed by Ruiz's creation that they did not want
to risk ruining it by poking holes in it.
This story is one of many that Ruiz, whose severe diabetes has led to
partial vision loss, offers as reasons why she took up painting again.
Her works are included in "Art Knows No Boundaries," a Contemporary Art
Month exhibit at the San Antonio Lighthouse. The exhibit features art
produced by members of the Senior Center at the Lighthouse, a nonprofit
organization that assists people with visual impairments.
"I thought it would be a good idea to allow the seniors to produce
artwork and, through (the exhibit), show the community what people with
visual impairments can do," says Jessica Rose, who works with seniors at
the Lighthouse. "People have this idea that you either have sight or you
don't. But it's amazing to see how they have produced such wonderful
pieces."
These pieces include vivid watercolor landscapes; multimedia hybrids
that incorporate paint, fabric and buttons; wire and fabric strung
floral arrangements; delicate crochet items; and a patchwork quilt that
has motivational words from past and current Lighthouse graduates.
Like many members of the Lighthouse, Ruiz will completely lose her sight
in a few years. Initially heartbroken, she said she looked to her faith
to cope with her health problems.
"I don't feel discouraged because I feel like God has still given me
vision," she says. "I appreciate all that I have seen. The sunset
changes the color of everything around you, moonlight makes the water
look like glitter. There is so much beauty in God's creation, and I am
glad that I was able to share that."
Ruiz's artwork, as well as her words, reflect her upbeat demeanor and
devotion. Often humorous, it depicts nature and the memories she treasures.
"Different people, places and great memories of the past - my art takes
me there," she says. "My memories help my future. As long as we have our
memories, we can go on. They help me accept what is going on. And I feel
good."
The artwork means more to the members than wall décor. It is a way to
bond with each other and get reassurance through work that is
significant to them.
The final products are a reflection of how they see the world. Members
find themselves becoming attached to the artwork that they meticulously
create; in fact, none of the artwork will be for sale.
"As I contribute, it makes me feel more secure about myself. I hadn't
drawn in years, but (Lighthouse friends) help me relax," says Hazel
Hodges, who has macular degeneration. "We can't see too well, but they
don't worry about it. I have bottles of paint all over my house, but I
don't paint as much because I don't get the same assurance. Also, I am
my own worst critic."
A nature enthusiast, Hodges' inspiration is simply the presence of scenery.
"I love to draw the outdoors," she says. "Anything that grows is
beautiful to me. Symmetrically, everything is beautiful; I even think
some weeds are lovely. I can sit and stare at a leaf for hours."
The Lighthouse artists are in good company - arguably the best. Claude
Monet's pieces were blurred as a result of his own visual impairment
from cataracts; Vincent Van Gough suffered from extreme migraines that
affected his vision.
"I tell them to paint the world in the way that they see it, because
that's how the pros did it," Rose says.
At first, some members were too bashful to submit art, but after seeing
some of the work of their friends, they were amazed and inspired to
submit their works.
"So many of them are working hard to finish new projects for the show,"
Rose says. "No matter, we will find space for it somehow."
"Art Knows No Boundaries" runs through July 28 at the San Antonio
Lighthouse Senior Center, 2300 Roosevelt Ave. A closing reception from 9
to 11 a.m. will feature a presentation by well-known visually impaired
artist Lisa Fittipaldi, followed by an auction of works donated by local
artists including Jason Stout and Kimberly Aubuchon. Proceeds will
benefit the center. For information, call (210) 533-5195.
'Blind at the Museum'
Through July 24, Berkeley Art Museum
LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE Blind sponsors an annual juried exhibition of artwork
by visually impaired people that calls attention to the manifold senses
at play in the enjoyment of art, and challenges common presuppositions
about the relationship between sight and blindness in the experience of
looking at the world (see "Critic's Choice," 9/8/04). Berkeley Art
Museum's "Blind at the Museum" addresses similar issues and features
work by some of the same artists as Lighthouse's most recent show in the
basement of San Francisco's City Hall, including John Dugdale, Pedro
Hidalgo, Michael Le Vell, and Kurt Weston. What nevertheless
distinguishes the Berkeley Art Museum show is its inclusion of sighted,
deaf, and blind artists, who all are concerned with the role of the
senses in the enjoyment of art, the complex relationships between them,
and their limits. In Lynx, a photograph from Sophie Calle's series "Les
Aveugles (The Blind)," Calle juxtaposes text from an interview with a
blind woman about what she experiences as beautiful, with an image of
the lynx fur she describes in her answer and a photograph of the woman
with her glasses slightly off center and one eye rolled up into her
head. The piece calls attention to the roles of thinking, reading,
touching, and seeing in the enjoyment of beauty, and to the ways they
work together for different people. In excerpts mounted on the wall from
his book Postcards to Sophie Calle, deaf artist Joseph Grigely
respectfully expresses his adverse response to her series and questions
the enjoyment – perhaps implicit in all photography – of looking at
those who can't look at us. In Hand Over Dog: Joseph at The Temple of
Dendur, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Alice Wingwall presents an
off-kilter photograph of the ancient Egyptian ruin, with the nose of her
seeing-eye dog in one corner of the image, and her hand reaching out at
the bottom of the frame as if in search of her way. The photograph
charts a course between the poles of the debate between Calle and
Grigely, and provides a potential paradigm for approaching both artwork
and other people: Like strangers to a lost culture, we can only draw
upon the resources available to us (including the help of others), but
should not lose sight of our limitations. Wed. and Fri.-Sun., 11 a.m.-5
p.m.; Thurs., 11 a.m.-7 p.m., 2626 Bancroft, Berk. $4-$8 (free first
Thurs.). (510) 642-0808. (Clark Buckner)
Francine Seders For the past several years, local photographer Spike
Mafford has been trying to figure out how to bring the aesthetic
experience of visual art to both the blind and sighted. The results of
his experiments will be on display in a new show, "Braille." Mafford has
incorporated tactile elements, including Braille lettering and raised
forms, into his printed photos with the goal of discovering how a
printed photograph changes after being touched by "viewers." Reception:
2-4 p.m. Sun. July 17. 6701 Greenwood Ave. N., 206-782-0355. 11 a.m.-5
p.m. Tues.- Sat.; 1-5
p.m. Sun.
excerpt from a longer article BSoA show instils hope for the future
"...Equally impressive is the gentle play of light and shade in The
Sensory Garden, now tragically under threat from a proposed new hospital.
This unusual garden, designed for the enjoyment of the blind, has an
atmosphere in reality all its own,a reality that Giles Campbell catches
with notable sensitivity."
excerpt from longer article Just a breath away
"...Japanese choreographer Saburo Teshigawara seems to relish an element
of risk. He has created dance works to be performed in the least
promising of spaces - an empty power station, a cattle market, a
warehouse - and worked for a year with blind dance students. Yet when I
meet him in Rome, where he has been performing with his company Karas in
a piece called Screams and Whispers, he seems a repository of calm."
The Times Online (UK)
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Raised Awreness: Art for the blind becomes reality
By Mark Irving
The artist Bill Woodrow tells how his idea has developed into an exhibition
ONE of the most annoying things about art galleries and museums is that
you rarely get the chance to touch the works on display. Of course,
there is an intellectual argument why this should be so - that art needs
to be preserved for generations, not just for a few years - but
something in me rebels against it nonetheless. After all, art invites
such a full range of sensory responses that it seems churlish to refuse
one the right to get right in there, hands, mouths and all.
Now the artist Bill Woodrow and Tate Modern have come up with an
exhibition of works specifically designed to be touched. Raised
Awareness is 23 drawings which have been produced by a special printing
process to enable them to be "read" by visually impaired people.
"A few years ago Caro Howell, who was then working in the special
education department at the Tate, gave a talk about the needs of the
visually impaired," says Woodrow. "Why, I thought, can't blind people
have access to complete and new works of art rather than just being
given embossed sheets showing details of existing works?"
The artists were asked to produce drawings in black and white on an
A3-sized piece of paper. These drawings were then put through a Minolta
photocopying device that picks up on the black or dark areas of the
drawing and copies these on to specially prepared paper in an embossed
form than can be "read" with the fingertips.
The challenge to the artists - among them Michael Craig-Martin, Richard
Deacon, Antony Gormley, Marc Quinn, Lisa Milroy and Damien Hirst - was
not inconsiderable. How could they convey a sense of their work and
their signature style to individuals whose sensory landscape is mapped
out entirely differently from fully sighted people? Their responses have
been quite varied. Some, like Charlotte Verity, have produced drawings
of great delicacy - a branch of berried fruits, for example, articulated
with all the attention to detail that you would expect in a drawing
produced for a sighted audience.
Other work - such as Roger Ackling's deliberately crumpled sheet that
requires seeing fingers to reconstruct the embossed grid printed on it
by travelling up and down its miniature hills and valleys - have been
designed not only with the visually impaired audience in mind but also
in the hope that they will be stimulated by a tactile adventure that
challenges their sense of spatial and textural relationships.
Hirst has submitted two sheets containing an identically sized circle
filled with small dots: on one, the dots radiate evenly outwards from
the circle's centre. On the other, the circles are organised in a
seemingly random fashion, and by comparing them you understand their
difference. They are instantly recognisable as Hirst works.
Anish Kapoor, conversely, has produced a scene of raised
finger-print-style whorls and plateaus that, while they do not look
anything like one of his works, might suggest the mystery of his
sculptures.
And some works, such as Thérèse Oulton's beautiful triptych-style
drawing, which reminds me somehow of Seurat seen through honey, will tax
all but the most dextrous Braille reader.
My favourites are Woodrow's own drawing of a pair of hands holding up a
ship in a bottle - "It's a metaphor for the way you can't touch or feel
the subject, something I sense sighted people might feel about reading
art through touch" - and a sunny drawing of a lone fish in the sea by
the late Terry Frost.
Raised Awareness, Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 (020- 7887 8888) from July
19 to Sept 30
What the heck are all these new yellow bumps on every street corner?
Download this press release as an Adobe PDF document.
New sidewalk ramp tactile cues provide renewed additions to pedestrian
safety.
(PRWEB) JULY 7 2005 -- It seems like every time we turn around there’s a
new curb ramp with all kinds of yellow, red or white bumps on them. Do
they do something? Is this part of that chirping noise we hear at
intersections? They weren’t there yesterday, now they’re everywhere…what
ARE they?
A frequently asked question among the general public, and one that
provides ample room for any number of responses. Jon Julnes of Vanguard
ADA Systems helps with some answers; “No, they’re not part of the
chirping crosswalks, they’re called detectable warnings and are
literally ‘Braille for your feet’, for blind and visually impaired
persons telling them ‘STOP, be aware! You’re about to enter a dangerous
vehicular way or a grade change’”.
It seems that the ADA back some years ago, through various studies and
acceptance of some results from other countries having some success with
myriad edge protection from hazardous vehicular ways found that among
all known surface textures detectable underfoot, detectable warnings
(truncated domes), about as wide as a quarter and twice as tall, spaced
in accord with new federal guidelines, gave blind and visually impaired
persons a detectable surface that was distinctly unique from all other
textures, giving them the same confidence in maneuvering around in the
public areas such as sidewalks and crossing areas, as STOP signs and red
lights do for people with sight.
Julnes goes on; “For several years the feds did an excellent job
debating the correct size, shape and texture of these warnings, and by
2001 everyone had come to a consensus on the what, where and how issue.
Because of this, prior to 2001, blind persons didn’t have a STOP sign
like sighted people do and by virtue they weren’t privy to the same
protection mechanisms that others take for granted every day. That meant
many didn’t feel safe, or even mildly comfortable going for a leisurely
walk even in their own neighborhood, buying an ice cream cone, going to
the park to hear others laughing, or just walking around in a
thunderstorm to feel something as simple as the pelt of raindrops on
their face. Sighted people take all these things for granted. As a
society, we can’t yet give them back their sight, but for very little
cost, we can literally change the world for a group that’s growing
larger every day”.
What about the cost? This is just another expense that we all have to
bear isn’t it? Mr. Julnes continues; “What’s the price we’re
collectively willing to pay to give someone born with different
abilities the capacity to maneuver safely, or a mentally challenged
child who may never be able to anticipate every possible outcome of the
simplest decision to cross a street safely because it would overwhelm
them, yet now we can tell this same person ‘when you come to an
intersection, look for the colored ramp…that’s a safe area to wait for
cars to pass by’. For those people it’s a bargain, and now it’s a
federal mandate.”
Naturally the argument runs to the obvious; why do blind people need a
bright yellow ramp, that’s a little counterintuitive isn’t it?
“At first glance it does seem odd, but keep in mind” says Julnes “these
laws were designed to provide protection for blind and visually
impaired, those with limited sight as well as no sight at all. Consider
that the bulk of accidents between pedestrians and drivers aren’t
because the pedestrian made a judgment error either in timing or in
fact, but rather, because the driver was on their phone, thinking of a
meeting this morning, picking up the kids, or any number of things that
we all go through every day and just plain didn’t see the pedestrian.
That’s when trouble starts. Anything we can do to make these pedestrian
areas and by virtue the pedestrians, blind or otherwise, more visible to
everyone, makes the world safer for all”.
We can all live with that.
AXcess News, Los Angeles
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
NASA gives blind students a chance to be rocket scientists
By Armando Duke
July 12, 2005 (AXcess News) Wallops Island VA - Thanks to a partnership
with the National Federation of the Blind, NASA is providing twelve
blind high school students a chance to experience what its like being a
rocket scientist.
The students will be participating in a program called "Rocket On!," a
week-long rocket science academy of the NFB Jernigan Institute in Baltimore.
NASA and NFB instructors will present workshops at the Institute on the
history of rocketry, basic rocket physics, and basic electronics. In
addition, the students will learn basic rocket trajectory planning,
build electronic circuits for the sensors they will fly, and practice
pad operations for the rocket they will launch July 20 from NASA's
Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.
"This is the second year NASA has supported the NFB Rocket On! camp,"
said Phil Eberspeaker, Chief of the NASA Sounding Rockets Program Office
at Wallops. "We are looking forward to challenging these students to
showcase their potential as possible future employees of NASA."
"This is an extremely rewarding camp for all those involved -- the
students and the NASA employees," Eberspeaker said.
"Through the NFB, these students receive mentoring and guidance from
blind adults who demonstrate that blindness need not limit your dreams,"
said Mark Riccobono, Director of Education for the NFB Jernigan Institute.
"Our programs are built by the blind, thus, they include an imaginative
sense of adventure that most people falsely believe is beyond the reach
of the blind. Through our partnership with NASA we are demonstrating
that blind youth will be an active force in the next generation of
leaders," he said.
While at Wallops on July 18 and 19, the students will participate in a
launch review with NASA personnel, integrate their experiments with NASA
support systems, and conduct a practice countdown.
Reporting for work at 4:30 a.m., July 20, the students will begin the
countdown procedures towards a 6 a.m. launch of the 10.5 foot rocket.
The launch window is 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. The backup launch day is July 21.
During the countdown, the students will be mentored by members of the
NASA launch team. The students will support range safety, project
management, radar and telemetry support, web cast, the test director,
and the launch activities at the pad and in the blockhouse. One lucky
student will be selected to push the launch button.
Through audible signals, the students will be able to determine the
readiness of their experiments and the rocket. The student-built
electrical circuits will allow them to measure light, temperature,
acceleration and pressure during the rocket's flight, which is estimated
to reach 6,000 feet.
Later in the day back at the Jernigan Institute, the students will begin
analyzing the data collected from the four sensors during the flight.
They will present their preliminary results during presentations on July
22 at the Jernigan Institute.
The students are from Arizona, Ohio, New York, Georgia, Texas,
Pennsylvania, Washington, Michigan, Colorado and Hawaii.
The launch will be web cast live beginning at 5 a.m. on the Internet at:
http://www.wff.nasa.gov/webcast
Fort Worth Star Telegram, Texas
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
A feel for painting: Blind Denton artist uses memory and touch
By Terry Lee Goodrich
DENTON - John Bramblitt's world began to shrink four years ago, when he
noticed friends' faces becoming blurrier.
At first he shrugged it off. After all, Bramblitt, now 34, had worn
glasses since he was 11. But his eyesight declined to legal blindness --
and worse. Now he barely perceives light and uses a cane to find his way.
But it wasn't until he could no longer see vivid images that he decided
to capture them in oil on canvas.
"I got more and more angry because I felt everything was on hold," said
Bramblitt, of Denton, a senior English major at the University of North
Texas. "I didn't leave the apartment much; I couldn't read. I kept going
to school, but I was getting incompletes. "I thought, 'Art isn't going
to be another thing I can't do.' "
The blue-eyed man put aside the question of why he became blind --
doctors still don't know -- to concentrate on a different issue: How to
create.
Bramblitt found a way, using touch and visual memories, to teach himself
to paint. He recently sold his first painting, a portrait of a blues
musician, for $650. A solo exhibition of his works will open Monday at
the University of North Texas.
Back when he could see, he had sketched idly, then tossed the drawings.
But he wanted to try again, this time to fill the void in his life.
First he found a way other than vision to visualize.
On a trip to Mexico with friends about a year ago, the El Paso native
was struck by the serenity of a stranger he met. Bramblitt asked an
unusual question: Could he explore the man's face with his hands? The
stranger said yes.
At a Denton nightclub, Bramblitt asked the same question of Pops Carter,
86, a Denton blues musician whose music he likes. Carter agreed.
"I wasn't doin' nothin'," Carter said. "I was standing right there on
break. It didn't tickle."
At home, Bramblitt's fluffy little dog, Ann -- part papillon, part
Chihuahua -- was an even easier subject. The image of Ann, 10 years old,
was already etched into Bramblitt's memory, and he did not need to ask
permission to touch her to refresh it. Besides, Ann held no grudges from
the day he fumbled for the remote control and accidentally bopped her
with it.
Scrutinies done, it was time for Bramblitt to convey his feelings --
tactile and emotional.
"I painted many paintings in my mind, stroke for stroke, before I ever
bought a brush," he said.
Patterns on canvas
Next he experimented to find a substance he could use to make raised
outlines, patterns to follow for the impressions tucked into his mind.
Glue took too long to dry; correction fluid seeped into the canvas. But
a fast-drying fabric paint works well.
When it comes time to bring an image to life with color, touch helps
again. He cannot read labels identifying hues of oil paints, so friends
helped at first. Then he began to recognize textures, enabling him to
blend colors and paint more rapidly. Black is slicker than white; burnt
sienna is like jelly. And aquamarine glides onto the canvas after it has
been mixed with white.
"Then I just try to remember how light and shadow were," he said.
He also draws from his past. He started college after graduating from
Marcus High School in Flower Mound but took several years off from
college because he has a seizure disorder that often left him weak. As
he tried various medicines to control the seizures, he worked as an
office manager for his father's diesel injection shop in Lewisville.
He resumed college and was awarded a fellowship. He made the dean's list
and -- even better -- the president's list for his 4.0 grade-point
average before his vision deteriorated.
For the past two years, he has painted rodeos and nudes. Churches and
billiard players. Wine bottles and his girlfriend. Even a disturbing
self-portrait depicting his frustration at sinking into darkness.
At first he was hesitant to let others see an in-progress image, but now
he turns to girlfriend Jacqi Serie -- he calls her "Gorgeous" -- and
others for feedback.
"John has definitely evolved into a more receptive artist," said Serie,
who has a degree in art photography and is a wedding photographer. The
two began dating two years ago, when Bramblitt's sight was virtually
gone. He enlarged a photo of her, hoping to see what she looks like, but
the image was obscure.
"I admire his ability to capture something realistically, even if he
can't see it, but also put his own twist on it," she said. "I'm honest
with him if I think something is a little awkward, and he's never gotten
upset.
"Sometimes, he's like, 'Well, yeah' and will rework it," Serie said.
"Other times he says: 'I like it. I'll leave it.' "
Bramblitt jokes that if he is a terrible painter, at least he will never
have to look at his art.
Making connections
But he also does not believe that "bad art" exists.
"Art is expression. Liking one person's art over another doesn't mean
that the art is any better or worse," he said. "But I don't like it when
people don't feel one way or another. At least, even if they don't like
it, they're connecting in some way with the artist."
Bramblitt said he is encouraged by knowing that other artists have
wrestled with impaired vision, including them Claude Monet and Edgar Degas.
Some painters turn to other media, such as sculpture, as they begin to
lose their sight, said Vickie Collins, vice president of National
Exhibits by Blind Artists, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization
that holds juried exhibits.
Some use extremely bright colors and a large canvas to compensate; many
use magnifiers, she said.
And some, like Bramblitt, begin when they no longer see.
Whatever their stories, "our artists want to be able to stand on their
own," Collins said.
Bramblitt recently made his first sale, the portrait of bluesman Carter,
for $650 to Tim Trawick, owner of the Texas Jive bar and restaurant in
Denton, Bramblitt said.
"I'm a big fan of Pops, and John's been in my club a number of times,"
Trawick said. "I knew John was blind, but I didn't know he was a painter."
Trawick was captivated when he saw Carter's likeness at one of the bar's
sporadic art exhibits.
"I thought, 'That's incredible,' " he said. "Then I found out John had
done it. That put it over the top -- that he did it from feeling Pops'
face and features and that he did it so well."
Carter was equally impressed. A friend gave him a printout of his
portrait from Bramblitt's Web site, and Carter hung it on his
living-room wall near an autographed photo of B.B. King.
"Boy oh boy. That painting is amazing -- it's me," he said.
Several of Bramblitt's paintings have been chosen by the art faculty and
staff for a solo exhibit at the Union Gallery at the University of North
Texas, said Carol Wilkinson, manager of the university's Design Works.
One who looks at Bramblitt's art from a clinical standpoint is an
optometrist, Stephanie Fleming of Dallas, a specialist in low vision.
She began testing Bramblitt extensively two years ago.
"I'm not an art critic, but I was really appreciative of how realistic
things were from his visual memory," she said.
The cause of his blindness remains a mystery, she said.
"Sometimes there's just no answer," Fleming said. "I'm very surprised at
how well he's handled it. He's been very upbeat."
Bramblitt has his blue times.
"Eyes are so hard to paint," he said. "Before, people's eyes told so
much. That was the first thing I always looked at."
But he is determined his world will not shrink again.
So he taps his way along Denton sidewalks, avoiding sidewalk cracks and
sidestepping trash bins that protrude.
He has completed more than a year of mobility training, even navigating
his way through downtown Dallas and Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington.
He looks forward to getting a guide dog eventually -- a Lab, perhaps, or
a boxer -- although Ann will never slip in his affection, he said.
Using a computer program with a scanner and an automated voice, he can
read again. His grades have improved, he plans to graduate in May, head
on to graduate school, become an English professor -- and paint.
"For a while when I started painting, it was almost as if I was trying
to throw my blindness back in God's face," he said. "I feel a lot calmer
now, a lot better. It's become like maybe it was God's plan.
"I don't want to stop."
IN THE KNOW
Art exhibit by John Bramblitt
. Monday-Aug. 15
. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays
. Union Gallery, third level of Union Center, 410 Ave. A, Denton
. Free
. Artist's reception, 3 to 5 p.m. July 23
. www.unt.edu/union/gallery.htm and (940) 565-3829
Terry Lee Goodrich, (817) 685-3812 tgoodrich at star-telegram.com
ONLINE:www.bramblitt.com, National Exhibits by Blind Artists at
www.nebaart.org
*A feel for painting*
Blind Denton artist uses memory and touch
By Terry Lee Goodrich
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
DENTON - John Bramblitt's world began to shrink four years ago, when he
noticed friends' faces becoming blurrier.
At first he shrugged it off. After all, Bramblitt, now 34, had worn
glasses since he was 11. But his eyesight declined to legal blindness --
and worse. Now he barely perceives light and uses a cane to find his way.
But it wasn't until he could no longer see vivid images that he decided
to capture them in oil on canvas.
"I got more and more angry because I felt everything was on hold," said
Bramblitt, of Denton, a senior English major at the University of North
Texas. "I didn't leave the apartment much; I couldn't read. I kept going
to school, but I was getting incompletes. "I thought, 'Art isn't going
to be another thing I can't do.' "
The blue-eyed man put aside the question of why he became blind --
doctors still don't know -- to concentrate on a different issue: How to
create.
Bramblitt found a way, using touch and visual memories, to teach himself
to paint. He recently sold his first painting, a portrait of a blues
musician, for $650. A solo exhibition of his works will open Monday at
the University of North Texas.
Back when he could see, he had sketched idly, then tossed the drawings.
But he wanted to try again, this time to fill the void in his life.
First he found a way other than vision to visualize.
On a trip to Mexico with friends about a year ago, the El Paso native
was struck by the serenity of a stranger he met. Bramblitt asked an
unusual question: Could he explore the man's face with his hands? The
stranger said yes.
At a Denton nightclub, Bramblitt asked the same question of Pops Carter,
86, a Denton blues musician whose music he likes. Carter agreed.
"I wasn't doin' nothin'," Carter said. "I was standing right there on
break. It didn't tickle."
At home, Bramblitt's fluffy little dog, Ann -- part papillon, part
Chihuahua -- was an even easier subject. The image of Ann, 10 years old,
was already etched into Bramblitt's memory, and he did not need to ask
permission to touch her to refresh it. Besides, Ann held no grudges from
the day he fumbled for the remote control and accidentally bopped her
with it.
Scrutinies done, it was time for Bramblitt to convey his feelings --
tactile and emotional.
"I painted many paintings in my mind, stroke for stroke, before I ever
bought a brush," he said.
*Patterns on canvas*
Next he experimented to find a substance he could use to make raised
outlines, patterns to follow for the impressions tucked into his mind.
Glue took too long to dry; correction fluid seeped into the canvas. But
a fast-drying fabric paint works well.
When it comes time to bring an image to life with color, touch helps
again. He cannot read labels identifying hues of oil paints, so friends
helped at first. Then he began to recognize textures, enabling him to
blend colors and paint more rapidly. Black is slicker than white; burnt
sienna is like jelly. And aquamarine glides onto the canvas after it has
been mixed with white.
"Then I just try to remember how light and shadow were," he said.
He also draws from his past. He started college after graduating from
Marcus High School in Flower Mound but took several years off from
college because he has a seizure disorder that often left him weak. As
he tried various medicines to control the seizures, he worked as an
office manager for his father's diesel injection shop in Lewisville.
He resumed college and was awarded a fellowship. He made the dean's list
and -- even better -- the president's list for his 4.0 grade-point
average before his vision deteriorated.
For the past two years, he has painted rodeos and nudes. Churches and
billiard players. Wine bottles and his girlfriend. Even a disturbing
self-portrait depicting his frustration at sinking into darkness.
At first he was hesitant to let others see an in-progress image, but now
he turns to girlfriend Jacqi Serie -- he calls her "Gorgeous" -- and
others for feedback.
"John has definitely evolved into a more receptive artist," said Serie,
who has a degree in art photography and is a wedding photographer. The
two began dating two years ago, when Bramblitt's sight was virtually
gone. He enlarged a photo of her, hoping to see what she looks like, but
the image was obscure.
"I admire his ability to capture something realistically, even if he
can't see it, but also put his own twist on it," she said. "I'm honest
with him if I think something is a little awkward, and he's never gotten
upset.
"Sometimes, he's like, 'Well, yeah' and will rework it," Serie said.
"Other times he says: 'I like it. I'll leave it.' "
Bramblitt jokes that if he is a terrible painter, at least he will never
have to look at his art.
*Making connections*
But he also does not believe that "bad art" exists.
"Art is expression. Liking one person's art over another doesn't mean
that the art is any better or worse," he said. "But I don't like it when
people don't feel one way or another. At least, even if they don't like
it, they're connecting in some way with the artist."
Bramblitt said he is encouraged by knowing that other artists have
wrestled with impaired vision, including them Claude Monet and Edgar Degas.
Some painters turn to other media, such as sculpture, as they begin to
lose their sight, said Vickie Collins, vice president of National
Exhibits by Blind Artists, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization
that holds juried exhibits.
Some use extremely bright colors and a large canvas to compensate; many
use magnifiers, she said.
And some, like Bramblitt, begin when they no longer see.
Whatever their stories, "our artists want to be able to stand on their
own," Collins said.
Bramblitt recently made his first sale, the portrait of bluesman Carter,
for $650 to Tim Trawick, owner of the Texas Jive bar and restaurant in
Denton, Bramblitt said.
"I'm a big fan of Pops, and John's been in my club a number of times,"
Trawick said. "I knew John was blind, but I didn't know he was a painter."
Trawick was captivated when he saw Carter's likeness at one of the bar's
sporadic art exhibits.
"I thought, 'That's incredible,' " he said. "Then I found out John had
done it. That put it over the top -- that he did it from feeling Pops'
face and features and that he did it so well."
Carter was equally impressed. A friend gave him a printout of his
portrait from Bramblitt's Web site, and Carter hung it on his
living-room wall near an autographed photo of B.B. King.
"Boy oh boy. That painting is amazing -- it's me," he said.
Several of Bramblitt's paintings have been chosen by the art faculty and
staff for a solo exhibit at the Union Gallery at the University of North
Texas, said Carol Wilkinson, manager of the university's Design Works.
One who looks at Bramblitt's art from a clinical standpoint is an
optometrist, Stephanie Fleming of Dallas, a specialist in low vision.
She began testing Bramblitt extensively two years ago.
"I'm not an art critic, but I was really appreciative of how realistic
things were from his visual memory," she said.
The cause of his blindness remains a mystery, she said.
"Sometimes there's just no answer," Fleming said. "I'm very surprised at
how well he's handled it. He's been very upbeat."
Bramblitt has his blue times.
"Eyes are so hard to paint," he said. "Before, people's eyes told so
much. That was the first thing I always looked at."
But he is determined his world will not shrink again.
So he taps his way along Denton sidewalks, avoiding sidewalk cracks and
sidestepping trash bins that protrude.
He has completed more than a year of mobility training, even navigating
his way through downtown Dallas and Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington.
He looks forward to getting a guide dog eventually -- a Lab, perhaps, or
a boxer -- although Ann will never slip in his affection, he said.
Using a computer program with a scanner and an automated voice, he can
read again. His grades have improved, he plans to graduate in May, head
on to graduate school, become an English professor -- and paint.
"For a while when I started painting, it was almost as if I was trying
to throw my blindness back in God's face," he said. "I feel a lot calmer
now, a lot better. It's become like maybe it was God's plan.
"I don't want to stop."
May 2, 2005
Section: Local State
Page: 01B
*ARTBREAK showcases variety of artistic expression*
Mary Jimenez
Staff
Times=City By Mary Jimenez
maryjimenez at gannett.com
Small hands carried unique robots, parents wore paper flowers on
their shirts, children sat at tables blind-folded and felt the color
of paint, and the rhythmic beat of African drums kept the pulse of
art flowing.
An estimated 15,000 students, family and friends of art took a tour
of the 21st year of ARTBREAK, which ran from Friday through
Sunday.Work from every Caddo Parish school was represented and 50
hands-on activities kept festivalgoers busy. The celebration of art
included music, dance, prose, sculpture and dramatic expression.
“This was the most well attended ARTBREAK since we moved to the Expo
Hall,” Pam Atchison, Shreveport Regional Arts Council executive
director, said. “It was not only a great showcase of art by our
teachers but also from our community partners and our quest
artists.”Among the professional artists was painter and English
major John Bramblitt, a blind student at the University of North
Texas. His Web site is www.bramblitt.com.
Bramblitt feels the color of his paints.
“It’s the same as seeing it with your eyes but you’re feeling it
with your hands,” said Bramblitt, 33, who started painting
2-and-a-half years ago, after going blind five years ago.
“I was angry in the beginning. I love to write and at first before I
learned how to use the programs that would read back to you, I
couldn’t read what I wrote. So I painted.”
Experimentation with different media like Elmer’s glue, which he
said dries too slow, and White-out (absorbs into the paper) led
Bramblitt to Slick Paint.
“It leaves a raised line so I can feel what I’ve drawn,” said the
33-year-old.
Then Bramblitt used oil paints, which he found to feel slightly
different for each color.
“Black is very slick while white is thick and almost pasty,” he
said. “So, for example, I know something that feels in between is gray.”
For ARTBREAK Bramblitt mixed some texture into the watercolor paints
to give the children an idea of painting by feel. Arial Hunter, 15,
from Green Oaks High School felt her way through the red, blue,
yellow and white paint.“The blue was stickier than the white,” she
said, pulling off her blindfold, slightly amazed that she could tell
the difference. “It was very neat.”
Sunday’s activities also included awards broken down by levels and
age. Cash prizes and savings bonds were awarded to student winners
in visual art, poetry and prose. Among the Best of Show was Michael
Kovalsky of Caddo Magnet High for his poetry, “Poetry.”
The first line of Kovalsky’s poem begins, “Poetry is the sin of our
passion ...”
“I actually wrote it when I shouldn’t have been writing it -- on
scratch paper driving home from school one day,” said the
11th-grader, who didn’t read poetry until this year. “My English
teacher Cathy Sledge made us read a lot of different poets this
year, and I was interested.”
Kovalsky takes his inspiration from every part of his life.
“At the end of the day I can take something I heard or felt and turn
it into a piece of writing,” he said.
Also receiving top awards were Best of Show in prose Maria Huang of
Caddo Magnet for “The Other Side of the Pacific.”
In visual arts, Courtney Mott of C.E. Byrd High won the Bernard J.
Kallenberg Memorial Purchase Award for her painting, “Migrant Worker.”
Molly Brau of Caddo Magnet High also won in visual arts. She took
home the Jimmy Dunn Memorial Portfolio Award for a five piece
portfolio of work that included two silk portraits, an acrylic and
“Strawberry Fields” on ceramic tiles.
Photo Captions:
Members of the Louisiana Dance Theatre perform Sunday, the final day
of ARTBREAK.
Blind artist paints with perfect precision
Jenna Cairney
Staff Writer
January 18, 2005
In the hallway of the spacious Art Six coffee shop hangs
"Confliction." It's the first painting on the right wall. The
painting consists of two faces merging, showing deep struggle and
strain throughout. A third eye in the center provides a focal point
and thick guidelines separate areas of precise shadings.
Stopping to ponder over the painting for a minute, Heidi Lang,
co-owner and art co-coordinator of Art Six, discussed the work.
"It's so incredible how he distinctly shades, but in this and some
of the others, you can see the guidelines," Lang said. "But in
this," she said, shuffling down the hall to point at the glass
framed "Cutter," "I just don't know how he did it."
Compared to "Confliction," "Cutter" is smooth but just as
well-defined and bold with incredible coloring. She then pointed at
"Cotton Fields," a sea of dark cotton, delicately shaded and
lightened. "It's amazing, I have no idea how he did it," she repeated.
Lang marveled at the work of artist John Bramblitt, Denton senior.
Bramblitt's signature two circles with crosses scored through them
is autographed on each of his works and, in its own right, merits
the display. Bramblitt is legally blind and paints entirely by
touch. On Sunday afternoon, Bramblitt explained how he began painting.
"I've drawn all my life and I always wanted to paint, but I didn't
start until I lost my eyesight," he said. Bramblitt suffers from
seizures and it was the re-occurrence of these seizures that slowly
led to the loss of his vision.
"It's hard to say exactly when I lost my eyesight. My vision was
worsening for a long time and I just didn't realize it. I was
legally blind and I thought it was just normal not to see much."
After attending a series of classes to help him adjust to his
condition, Bramblitt began to explore his artistic options. "I
didn't think I'd be any good at painting but I thought 'What's the
harm in trying?' and so I started anyway," Bramblitt said. "It was a
whole lot of fun, I really liked it so I just kept painting and I've
been doing it ever since."
After visiting Art Six on a number of occasions, Bramblitt mentioned
his paintings to Lang. "He stumbled in and knocked one of the bulbs
off the Christmas tree," Lang said, laughing. "And he came in a few
more times, until one day he said he had some paintings and I
thought 'awesome' and told him to let me see them. They are all
titled very obvious things and I was a little concerned they were
going to be totally abstract but they were very realistic,
recognizable images." Bramblitt's pieces will soon be on sale.
"He came in the next day and I said 'OK John, let's sit down and
discuss a contract.'" In the corner of Art Six, Bramblitt's portrait
of familiar Denton face, Pops Carter hangs proudly. The painting is
thick and textured and the shading is separated by what looks like
pieces of a jigsaw. "I probably like Pops the best," Bramblitt said.
"I met him firstly at Moe's, got talking to him and his crazy dogs,
and saw him again at Cool Beans. He let me feel his face, which was
really nice of him and he was just really patient." Bramblitt paints
by touch and, by using Puffy Paint to draw shapes, he can create the
guidelines for his shading.
"It's like painting sort of colors the world," he said. "If I touch
a person's arm and it's sort of silky then in my mind I'll see red.
I know it's not red. It's not real but it's different."
Bramblitt does have plans for other shows, such as a solo show in
the University Union this summer and a display in the Marshall
Visual Arts Center in Marshall.
"The really cool thing about the show in Marshall is that they are
working on a way to maybe start an art workshop for blind kids and
maybe get the parents into it," he said. "I think dealing with
things like that is as hard for the parents as it is the kids, but I
think if the parents had something like that, and they could see the
kids actually doing something, then it would be a real winner."
Bramblitt's paintings will be displayed until Jan. 22, after which
they will go on sale.
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