[accessibleimage] artists, museum,

Blair, who is color blind, says he considers his condition "a big advantage. I can use any color where I want to, anytime, and nobody can stop me."
more of the article Art, animal lovers join forces follows - but really liked the above quote.
He also was seeking inspiration for his first solo sculpture show, "Wayfaring Strangers," at Hampton III Gallery. Previously, the 30 animal sculptures -- not Toby and Juicy -- have been exhibited in Charleston, Charlotte, Anderson and at the Greenville County Museum of Art.
The renowned South Carolina painter, with works in more than 2,500 private, corporate and public collections, and the gallery are partnering with the Greenville Humane Society in an effort to raise awareness of the shelter's work and to raise funds to support it, says Hampton III's director, Sandra Rupp.
Blair's show opens Aug. 21, and on the same day, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., the Toby and Juicy sculptures can be purchased through a silent auction, with all proceeds to benefit the Humane Society. Also on that day, Blair will demonstrate from 1-4 p.m. 

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080817/ENT01/808170305/1056/ENT
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Esref Armagon - blog

http://www.appletreeblog.com/?p=5184
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Frustrating times for legally blind folk artist
Posted By CAMERON KENNEDY, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Posted 2 days ago
For the first time in his life, Ed McFadden is contemplating what to do with himself without painting.
The Bashaw, Alta., artist admits it has been months since he worked on a scene from an old-time dance, school picnic or game of shinny all of which figure prominently in his later work. The last time he picked up a brush almost drove him nuts because his deteriorating eyesight had ruined his hand-eye co-ordination and colour perception. 

He was declared legally blind earlier this year.
"I hope I can get back at it, but who knows?" he says. "Like I said, I've had 80 years of real good eyesight, so I shouldn't complain, I guess."
McFadden is hopeful a special drawing board and a closed-circuit television provided by the CNIB will enable him to continue doing some drawing.
A recent display of his art at the Donalda Gallery for the Arts in Donalda, Alta., was packed with a variety of sketches, sculptures, landscapes and folk art that McFadden has done since the 1950s.
Les Graff, 72, was saddened to hear about his old classmate's eye problems because it's very difficult to be a visual artist if you can't see.
Barring a miracle, the Donalda exhibit could be McFadden's swan song, he says.
"Let's hope some kind of a miracle happens," says Graff. "In the meantime, you can at least celebrate his achievements to date."
Born in Bashaw, about 65 kilometres east of Red Deer, McFadden began drawing threshing machines and locomotives on the front flaps of library books at an early age. Most of McFadden's early work went up in flames with his family's home after it was struck by lightning in the '40s.
After graduating from high school, McFadden worked as a school teacher, a steam locomotive fireman, a seismic worker, a farmer and a forest ranger. 


http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1159461

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http://www.lighthouse.org/medical/tips-for-confident-living/travel-leisure/spotlight-on-blind-artists

Spotlight on Blind Artists
Have you ever thought about how an artist might feel when she or he has been told they may go blind? Artists invest more than just time and energy when painting; they also invest part of themselves and you might think that, in a highly visual medium, the artist who loses his or her sight would give up. But many do not. Many devise simple, yet ingenious ways of changing their style and adapting their whole approach to painting. Painting From a New Perspective is an RNIB publication about painters who have made the decision to overcome these problems. It is also for those who are facing them. 
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excerpt

Come on a Sensory Safari with me

If you go
What: Sensory Safari grand opening.
When: 6 to 9:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 5.
Where: Washington State School for the Blind, 2214 E. 13th St., Vancouver.
Cost: $35.
For tickets: call 360-696-6321, ext. 177.
Dean Stenehjem, superintendent of Washington State School for the Blind, orchestrated the creation of the Sensory Safari, a tactile museum that will be launched in September. 


Saturday, August 16, 2008
By ISOLDE RAFTERY, Columbian Staff Writer
A blind professor from Japan visited the Washington State School for the Blind and was escorted to a basement room packed with animal heads, snake pelts and an enormous polar bear hide.
As his hands explored the lion’s mane, the man’s face erupted into an enormous smile. He had read about lions, heard people talking about them, but he didn’t understand their dimensions.
“I wish I had a camera,” School for the Blind Superintendent Dean Stenehjem said. “It was the biggest grin I’ve ever seen.”
On Sept. 5, that basement room will open to the public as a tactile museum. There, students at the school for the blind will tour guests through the “Sensory Safari.” About $125,000 in animal mounts were donated by members of Safari Club International.
“Most museums tell you not to touch anything,” Stenehjem said. “We want you to touch and explore.” 
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/08/08162008_Come-on-a-Sensory-Safari-with-me.cfm

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LAUREL: To Hayden Dahmm. He's the Springfield High artist whose work has hung in the U.S. Capitol and been honored as the winner of a congressional art contest. There are many reasons to admire Dahmm, and his work. Not the least of which is that he is legally blind. Dahmm is proof that a disability is not necessarily an impediment to success. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20020311&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id=18168&rfi=6

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