[Art_beyond_sight_learning_tools] Textured paints

[Clara Ines Sebesta]

I found this recipe on a crafting website. I haven't tried it but it might 
work.

Texturized Finger Paint
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This paint, made from only the most basic ingredients, is not your typical 
smooth fingerpaint; however, students seem to enjoy the grainy mixture, and 
they also like the feel of the finished product.

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
3/4 cup water
food coloring OR tempera paint

Mix flour and salt, then add water. Mix untill all three ingredients are 
thoroughly blended. Add a few drops of liquid food coloring or tempera paint 
(dry or liquid) until desired color is reached. If necessary, you may add 
additional flower and salt in the following proportions: two teaspoons of 
flour, followed by one teaspoon of salt; alternate until desired consistency 
is reached.


>From: art_beyond_sight_learning_tools-request at nfbnet.org
>Reply-To: art_beyond_sight_learning_tools at nfbnet.org
>To: art_beyond_sight_learning_tools at nfbnet.org
>Subject: Art_beyond_sight_learning_tools Digest, Vol 18, Issue 1
>Date: Thu, 01 Dec 2005 12:00:01 -0600
>
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>Today's Topics:
>
>    1. Foamies cutting out craft (juddysbuddy at velocity.net)
>    2. Tactile Paint (juddysbuddy at velocity.net)
>    3. two artists (Lisa Yayla)
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Message: 1
>Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2005 18:41:14 -0500 (EST)
>From: juddysbuddy at velocity.net
>Subject: [Art_beyond_sight_learning_tools] Foamies cutting out craft
>To: art_beyond_sight_educators at nfbnet.org,
>	"art_beyond_sight_learning_tools"
>	<art_beyond_sight_learning_tools at nfbnet.org>
>Message-ID: <4850.141.218.229.26.1133394074.webmail at 141.218.229.26>
>Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1
>
>Hi guys is me again.  Am full of questions tonight.
>
>I have an craft lesson that I want to do but am not sure how to work out a
>challenge.
>
>I am not allowed to use an Exacto or Utility knife for it.
>
>I have stencils that are large enough, I am laying them over foamie, that
>thick colored foam, and cutting out the pieces.  I then glue them on to a
>card making the shape.  I have farm animals, unicorns, insects and other
>shapes.
>
>Are there other tools I could use and a totally blind person could use to
>cut out the foam to make the shapes besides an exacto blade.  Thanks you
>all.
>
>Shelley L. Rhodes and Judson, guiding golden
>juddysbuddy at velocity.net
>Guide Dogs For the Blind Inc.
>Graduate Advisory Council
>www.guidedogs.com
>
>The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to
>stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs.
>
>       -- Vance Havner
>
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>Message: 2
>Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2005 18:42:37 -0500 (EST)
>From: juddysbuddy at velocity.net
>Subject: [Art_beyond_sight_learning_tools] Tactile Paint
>To: "art_beyond_sight_educators"
>	<art_beyond_sight_educators at nfbnet.org>,
>	"art_beyond_sight_learning_tools"
>	<art_beyond_sight_learning_tools at nfbnet.org>
>Message-ID: <4869.141.218.229.26.1133394157.webmail at 141.218.229.26>
>Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1
>
>Hi everyone.  I have a practical question for you.
>
>Here is the activity.  I have stencils, and am going to be doing a craft
>lesson where we stencil onto greeting cards.  My question is, is there
>something I can add to the paint to make it tactile to the touch.  It is
>standard tempera paint, aka Poster board paint.
>
>I do have puff paint, but didn't think you could use that effectively for
>this project, plus I don't have enough.
>
>The base material is going to be white or colored card stock.  And we are
>using sponge or standard paint brushes.
>
>Would love all suggestions.
>
>I have heard of putting sand into paint but don't remember which kind that
>was, and if I can't get a small amount of sand, what other materials could 
>I
>use.  I have a craft store at my disposal, am hoping to go there tomorrow
>afternoon to finish picking up the materials.
>
>Thanks you all.
>
>Shelley L. Rhodes and Judson, guiding golden
>juddysbuddy at velocity.net
>Guide Dogs For the Blind Inc.
>Graduate Advisory Council
>www.guidedogs.com
>
>The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to
>stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs.
>
>       -- Vance Havner
>
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>Message: 3
>Date: Thu, 01 Dec 2005 05:46:45 +0100
>From: Lisa Yayla <fnugg at online.no>
>Subject: [Art_beyond_sight_learning_tools] two artists
>To: accessibleimage at freelists.org,
>	art_beyond_sight_theory_and_research at nfbnet.org,
>	artbeyondsightmuseums at nfbnet.org,
>	art_beyond_sight_learning_tools at nfbnet.org,
>	art_beyond_sight_advocacy at nfbnet.org,
>	art_beyond_sight_educators at nfbnet.org
>Message-ID: <438E8035.2010305 at online.no>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed
>
>Hi,
>Two articles about artists.
>Best,
>Lisa
>
>links
>
>http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:9OgzivBAMZwJ:www.sbsun.com/news/ci_3209940+Almond+is+a+legally+blind+artist+who+paints+&hl=en
>
>http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/1105/17artist.html
>
>article 1
>
>Legally blind, but not to her own art
>
>Michel Nolan, Staff Writer
>
>Cheyenne Almond peers hard at her painting through thick glasses, a
>difficult task because the 37-year-old Redlands resident is legally blind.
>
>"I can see clearly on the inside, just not on the outside," she says,
>adjusting the new glasses on her nose. "It's hard to focus because my
>eyes bounce back and forth like rubber bands."
>
>Her paintings are on display throughout the living room of her mobile
>home, some propped up on the furniture, others leaning against walls.
>
>Cobalt blues, sea-foam greens, gray and purples, ambers and bronze -
>they line the room like a large mosaic. Most of her work is done in
>acrylic, but there are a few watercolors and pencil drawings as well.
>
>There is a mystical quality about her paintings. The subjects? Orcas,
>cats, fish, portraits, as well as other-worldly fantasy realms that
>could work as illustrations for "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
>
>Almond's fantastic imagination is the source of her ideas, she'll tell
>you. "The only way I can get it out of my head is to put it on canvas."
>
>Her favorite color is blue but admits to using lots of red when she does
>abstracts.
>
>"Abstracts just blow me away," she says. Almond has also sculpted with
>clay. "I use my hands and just feel it. I feel my own face for the nose
>and mouth."
>
>Almond, who lives by herself, gets help from Pathway Inc., an agency
>that assists people with developmental disabilities living on their own.
>
>Tracy Whitfield, Pathway manager, is visiting Almond as she shows off
>her paintings.
>
>"Her artwork is awesome," Whitfield says. "When I saw it for the first
>time, I couldn't believe it."
>
>Pathway Inc., based in San Bernardino, has been assisting Almond with
>independent living since 1999.
>
>"We provide Cheyenne with 24 hours of assistance each month. She gets to
>choose from services including shopping, medical appointments, and help
>with accessing
>
>
>resources," says Whitfield.
>
>"She even takes the bus by herself and is active in the community, going
>to the Redlands Bowl and Market Night. She takes care of her home and
>her two cats in addition to being an outstanding artist."
>
>Almond doesn't like to be labeled as disabled. She feels she's as
>able-bodied as the next person, according to Whitfield.
>
>"It's harder for people with disabilities to market our work, especially
>people with crazy imaginations," Almond says, adding that she just gives
>her work away to family and friends.
>
>"I dream a lot - visions come floating into my mind. For the most part,
>what I had in my mind is what ends up on the canvas," says Almond, who
>estimates that she alternates between painting and sleeping both day and
>night.
>
>"I only work for two hours at a time because my eyes get tired," she
>says. "I do a lot of detail, and it takes a lot of guts and effort to do
>it good," she says. "My body gets tired in one position."
>
>According to Almond, she has created hundreds of paintings since she was
>3 or 4 and living in her native Hawaii.
>
>"I taught myself to paint. I tried to take some classes but wanted to do
>it my own way. You know how stubborn we artists are," she says smiling.
>
>Her favorite subjects? "I have no favorites. I just paint whatever
>inspires me."
>
>Says Almond, "Painting just makes me so happy, and my mom and dad are so
>happy for me when I paint. It's easy for me. I just keep going, going
>and going."
>
>article 2
>
>Artist follows his instincts, even after illness
>
>After his sight was stolen by meningitis, longtime artist still creates
>
>Published on: 11/17/05
>
>Artist Allan Eddy debuts his recent work on Friday at Atlanta's Mason
>Murer Gallery.
>
>Probably the most ambitious piece, called "Proof of Dragons," blends
>intricate paper sculpture with the swirling turbulence of abstract
>expressionist painting.
>
>(text to picture)
>
>Allan Eddy shows off his work. The raised surfaces help him perceive
>different parts of the piece.
>
>(text to picture)
>
>Allan Eddy's art hangs in many collections, including Elton John's, and
>has been seen in numerous galleries.
>
>
>In every facet, it's an astonishing work ? even if one doesn't know that
>Eddy's been legally blind for the past five years.
>
>Eddy, 43, grew up mostly in Forest Park and Jonesboro but has lived for
>the past 10 years near Emory University, sharing a home with Marc
>Sherman, his partner of 24 years.
>
>He has drawn for as long as he can remember: in school textbooks, in his
>mother's scrapbooks, and just about every other blank space in between.
>During his late teenage years, he briefly considered a law degree ? "I
>do like to argue," Eddy said ? but his enduring distaste for school
>shelved those plans.
>
>He graduated from the Atlanta College of Art in 1987 and had his first
>art show one day later. For years, he's had a loyal core of admirers,
>including Elton John, who bought one of his paintings in the mid-1990s.
>
>But the Mason Murer show consists entirely of work Eddy has completed
>since meningitis took most of his sight in May 2000.
>
>The disease is an infection of the tissues, or meninges, surrounding the
>brain and spinal cord. The subsequent swelling of these tissues
>prevented substantial blood and oxygen from reaching his brain cells.
>
>It's rare, Eddy said, that meningitis affects one's sight.
>
>"I got sick on a Monday," Eddy said, "and spent a week at home, mostly
>with terrible headaches and nausea. Eight days later, on a Tuesday, I
>noticed a gray spot in my vision. On Wednesday, I woke up totally blind."
>
>Though he spent six weeks in the hospital and was told by doctors he'd
>never see again, Eddy never considered that his career was over.
>
>Initially, he decided to reinvent himself as a sculptor. When he finally
>felt good enough to get out of bed, he began experimenting with large
>sheets of map board and dipping them into acrylic paint, which hardens
>into plastic.
>
>His first completed project along these lines was a large (about 4 feet
>high) capsule of entangled, plasticized strips bent and curved, which he
>called "B.C. Shell" because it looked ? or at least felt to his touch ?
>like a dinosaur egg.
>
>Around this time, unexpectedly, fragments of his eyesight began returning.
>
>"Occasionally, I'd get these flashes, like a camera's flashbulb," Eddy
>said, "and then maybe a week later, I would notice I was seeing a little
>more light. This went on for a few years ? but I haven't had any more
>improvement in about a year and a half."
>
>Eddy's eyesight has acute limitations. He describes it as a "permanent
>thumbprint in the center of my vision, and I can see around this print,
>although I can't see anything below my eye level."
>
>"Colors are strange," he said. "Blues and yellows are like neon ? in a
>crowd they really stand out, while everything else recedes. Reds and
>greens go gray. When I see red by itself, often it looks orange."
>
>With this partial restoration, Eddy started painting again. First he
>tried watercolors, then chalk pastel, but both methods proved too
>transparent and insubstantial for his taste and his sight.
>
>So he started using just his hands and fingers, often, though not
>always, eliminating brushwork. In time, his canvases became buoyant with
>thicker textures, brighter colors and three-dimensional elements.
>
>It was only logical that he combine these solid, very tangible painting
>techniques with sculpture. It wasn't only an artistic decision; it was
>also pragmatic.
>
>"I have to really concentrate to actually see the surfaces of my
>paintings," Eddy said. "And with a large work, like ["Proof of
>Dragons"], I can't see the whole thing ? I see it in parts. The way in
>which I actually come to know my pieces is through touching the surfaces.
>
>"So you see," he said, smiling, "I am basically working by instinct."
>
>Sprawling over a 48-by-72 inch canvas, "Proof of Dragons" is bursting
>with disjointed bones, cracked bones, decayed bones, and bones
>constituting the fossilized dragon's spine, which nearly frames the
>portrait.
>
>Each spinal segment bulges from the surface, giving the overall effect
>of a coiled mountain chain. Toward the bottom lies the dragon skull,
>three-dimensional like the spine, with horns, spiky teeth and a forlorn
>countenance.
>
>But the piece's most startling feature are two perfectly formed wings
>sprouting from the canvas, on either side of the spine. The background
>colors are mostly dark, excepting an occasional dab of turquoise that
>leaves a nostalgic twinge, it seems, of something not quite remembered.
>
>In some ways, the pre-blindness period seems like eons ago. But if his
>work has changed, in style and materials, much of his world beyond
>painting hasn't. He still lifts weights, boxes and participates in
>full-contact karate ? though his feet remain numb from the meningitis.
>
>"Going into the gym," he said, "is an absolute pleasure of mine. I
>expect it's a little surprising to see a guy walk in using a white cane,
>and then put the cane down and put the gloves on."
>
>He laughed, then added a remark, ostensibly about boxing, that also
>summed up his professional life.
>
>"People are surprised by how hard I punch," Eddy said. "I'm not a big
>man, you know. But I'm tougher than I look."
>
>
>
>------------------------------
>
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>End of Art_beyond_sight_learning_tools Digest, Vol 18, Issue 1
>**************************************************************