[accessibleimage] mixed articles

Hi,
Sending a mix of articles, biology, art, theater, photography, the great out 
doors, etc.
Regards,
Lisa

Daily Tribune, Philippines
Monday, May 16, 2005

'Tonyo': A play for the blind

By Jojo Lamaria, Contributor

It was quite an opportunity for me to be with the visually-impaired when we 
listened to a stage play a few weeks ago. It was truly a unique play as all the 
audiences were blindfolded except for the visually-impaired.

But why were we blindfolded, I asked myself? The answer to my question was answered 
by actor-director Karlo Marko Altomonte: "Nobody could quite picture it when I 
first brought up the idea to our group. A play for the blind. As far as we know, it 
has never been done before and expectedly among the initial reactions was, 'Why?

"Among my main goals as a theater artist is to present plays that are not only entertaining, but educational and socially and/or culturally relevant as well. Among the benefits of being in this field is the abundance of great literary works of art one gets exposed to, and learn from. Falling in love, learning from and getting affected by a very good script become my motivation to share that story with as many people as possible.

"Through the years I struggled to bring in as many people to the theater believing that this serves as a good alternative to the mostly hollow popular entertainment fares that most mass media outlets offer the community. 

"And I just realized that there is one sector out there that does not even get 
the opportunity to be offered any alternative at all - the visually-impaired.

"Art presents an opportunity to hold a moment in time in place for a moment and, as the late Santiago Bose puts it, get absorbed in 'a life of imagination' in the hope that the artwork will speak to our very own human condition and change, perhaps even enrich, the way we view ourselves and the world around us. 

"Not too many artworks are there to be enjoyed by the blind, and as an artist 
and a human being, I want to communicate my stories to them.

"The play was written by Rene Villanueva, and I have personally performed it several times over the years and I remember that among my initial reactions to the script when I was first introduced to it was that it was so visual. Each scene was described in vivid details by the playwright that when reading it one gets lost in the world that the script tells of. 

"It was the perfect script for this experimental theater production. Tonyo is 
my first attempt at this approach to storytelling. When I first imagined this 
production, I thought it would merely be a sound-based performance, more like a 
radio-drama done live. But the presentation grew into a multi-sensory presentation 
with the realization that there are other senses aside from hearing that are 
available to the visually-impaired, primarily touch and smell.

"This made for a very unique theater experience for both the artists involved 
and the audience.

"The initial reactions to the performance when we first did it a month ago were 
encouraging. Sighted people, who were blindfolded during the show to experience this the 
way the blind will, and who have seen the original visual staging of the play claimed 
that they understood the story better this time. Without the visual 'distractions,' with 
one's eyes closed, one tends to focus, concentrate and 'see' things better, or at least 
in a different perspective. With this, the play aims at a unique artistic and human 
experience for both the artists and the audience."

Karlo's aim was achieved in the first staging of the play and the visually 
gifted were just awed by the fact there were so many things the 
visually-impaired experience that makes one wonder.

The audience were led to the University of Baguio's Dap-ayan Hall blindfolded 
and were sat on the floor. I was trying to hold on to a chair but there were 
none.

A few more minutes past and the show was about to begin. One could feel the 
rumble of the bass music vibrating on the floor and immediately my heart 
pounded, not sure if I was nervous. That mixed feeling, I'm sure, was felt by 
everyone in the audience.

Here's more insight from the actor-director himself:

"There were only less than ten visually-impaired persons in the audience. The 
rest were sighted people who were blindfolded. Though there were complaints here and 
there-one didn't like the idea that he was sitting on the floor and a few kept 
taking off their blindfolds.

"Some were getting quite impatient because it was already running late. We were 
waiting for this family of blind people who already called to say that they're on 
their way.

"The cast and staff were quite a bit more nervous before the show than usual. Well, we're doing a play for the blind. That is unusual. I came up with the idea of doing a performance for the visually-impaired a year ago, but only decided to finally try it out a couple of months back. 

"One of my goals, and perhaps most artists' too, in staging a play is to be 
able to communicate a particular play's story to the greatest number of people 
possible.

" And one of the joys of being in theater is one gets to be introduced to a 
host of great literary works of art.

"With these thoughts, I realized that there's a whole sector out there that I 
am not reaching with my productions, and this particular sector of our community do 
not have access to art like most people do (and take for granted, but that's another 
story).

"Tonyo by Rene Villanueva was the perfect script for it. Antonio Luna's lines 
in this monologue vividly describes each scene in such detail that reading through 
it, one can almost hear his voice, feel his pain, smell the gunpowder when a gun is 
fired and see his blood-drenched uniform when he dies in the end.

"I let the cast and staff watch a video of a previous performance of the play to introduce them to the material, and at the end of video, I told them that we're doing that exact same play for the blind.

couldn't imagine (true, most sighted people have lost this ability) how it can be done, some were excited by the idea, a few of them said, 'Ok.'

"Communicating each scene in the play without visuals was quite harder than I thought. Or maybe 'harder' isn't really accurate. It was different.

"We'd have some members of the production staff blindfolded to see if a particular scene worked or not. Lots of vocal exercises for the production is primarily sound-based, and since the audience wouldn't be able to see your facial expressions, your gestures, lip movements, it was quite challenging to be able to deliver the lines and convey its emotions. 

"But we went beyond sound - a sound effect of wind blowing and we had the 
audience feeling the wind blowing, the smell of gunpowder filled the theater when 
the Filipino-American War broke out.

"Finally they arrived, an usher made the mistake of blindfolding this young boy 
who turned out to be blind. The usher thought he wasn't blind when he saw him coming 
up the steps on his own without another person or a stick to guide him.

"The show began and I saw that same young boy hugging and curling up to his mother as the first gunshots were fired. He didn't know how to react to the show that he kept on talking to his mother, who was also blind, all throughout the show.

"At the end of the show, a couple of my friends who've seen the show before claimed that they understood the play better this time than when they watched a previous 'normal' staging a year ago. 

"With the blindfold on, they said, the visuals didn't get in the way, weren't 
fed to them, their imaginations went wild and saw each scene more vividly in their 
minds. The blind persons were ecstatic . They wanted to touch the props, kept asking 
how this or that sound effect was achieved, and they wanted to know more about 
Antonio Luna's life and this and that part of our nation's history.

"That was how it was in the first staging of the play for the blind, when most 
of the audience were blinfolded. The second time around was different, I am now 
documenting the whole thing in photographs.

"I saw actors stomping hard on the floor, sliding down to touch the audience, 
burning incences to make the audience feel the scent of the past. Without the blindfold, 
the whole play, as observed by a sighted viewer, is a radio drama on stage complete with 
props. As it is, the only things missing were the costumes."

Karlo Marko Altomonte is currently in the process of selecting other material 
for his next play for the blind.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/life/20050517.lif01.html




The Irish Examiner
Monday, May 16, 2005

A look at the bright side as Traveller art expo paints the positive

Second All Ireland Traveller Art Competition begins tomorrow at the Bank of 
Ireland Arts Centre in Foster Place, Dublin

(Extract: "Equally proud of her charges is Maureen Finn, a ceramics teacher at Drumcondra 
School for the Visually Impaired in Dublin. There are five Travellers among the 26 pupils in 
the school and three of them are taking part in the competition. "We have two sisters, 
Bridget and Mary-Lisa Collins and Louise Moughan. They are each doing individual ceramic 
pieces and are very excited about it.")

THE painting on the wall is stylised and well executed and depicts suppertime at a traditional Traveller encampment. Next to it roars a space shuttle as it blasts into fiery orbit while, nearby, the rapper 50 Cent looks sassy.

There are also dozens of sculptures, ceramics, photographs, installations and multi-media. The works are as varied as the artists who created them and the only thing they have in common is that they were all made by members of the Travelling community.

From all over the country Travellers from seven to 70 have, for the past few months, been painting, drawing, photographing and lending artistic substance to their daily lives.

It is all part of the second All Ireland Traveller Art Competition which begins tomorrow at the Bank of Ireland Arts Centre in Foster Place, Dublin. An exhibition of all the entries will be opened by the Junior Education Minister, Síle de Valera.

Travellers from all over Ireland will present their art pieces to a panel of judges which includes celebrated artists Robert Ballagh and Bernadette Burns as well as photographer Derek Spiers. Judging takes place on May 24 and the award ceremony on May 26.

One of the organisers of the competition is Paul McCann, an artist who teaches at Navan Travellers Training Centre. He recognises the importance such a display has in terms of self-esteem.

"It is good to show the positive and not just the negative side," he said, as he worked hanging paintings in the Bank of Ireland. "This is the second year of the competition and the standard is very high. There is a huge representation of the horse this year but we also have a lot more modern pieces. The oldest entrant is a student of my own, Mary Hand from Navan, aged 70."

Equally proud of her charges is Maureen Finn, a ceramics teacher at Drumcondra School for the Visually Impaired in Dublin. 

There are five Travellers among the 26 pupils in the school and three of them are taking 
part in the competition. "We have two sisters, Bridget and Mary-Lisa Collins and 
Louise Moughan. They are each doing individual ceramic pieces and are very excited about 
it."

NATC, which has direct daily contact with over 1,500 Traveller families, is a partnership organisation in which Traveller and settled communities work together in responding to the needs of Travellers.

NATC sees the art competition as an innovative project which will aid in bridging the divide that exists between the settled and Travelling communities on a national level.

The final exhibition will be on display in two locations: the Bank of Ireland Arts Centre in Foster Place hosts paintings and photography, while The Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin, houses sculpture, installations and multi-media. 

http://www.examiner.ie/pport/web/ireland/Full_Story/did-sg0AYxLe5SOCcsg7IQHSmeYhNE.asp




A sense of culture in Bristol

Bristol City Council has launched an initiative called A Sense of Culture to help people with sight loss and deafblind people find out more about the city's cultural facilities, and to learn how it can further improve its services.

On 16 June, the first of two bus tours for blind, partially-sighted and deafblind clients of Bristol RNIB took in Bristol Record Office, the City Museum and Art Gallery and Colston Hall.

Councillor Simon Cook, executive members for leisure services, said: "Many deafblind people or those living with sight loss don't use our cultural services because they don't know how to get there, or even if they'll be able to access the buildings when they arrive.

"We already have a range of measures in place to make access to culture in Bristol easier, but we know more could be done. By organising these tours, we hope to learn how we can encourage and promote more visits by people with disabilities."

The tours are organised in partnership with the Bristol RNIB, Guide Dogs for the Blind and City Sightseeing Bristol Bus tours.

The second tour will take place on 29 June and include visits to Central Library, the City Museum and Art Gallery, the Create Centre and the Ecohome.

Details: www.bristol-city.gov.uk 





Pennlive.com, Pennsylvania
Monday, June 06, 2005

All 5 senses take a hike on sensory nature trail

Sunday, June 05, 2005 - Blue Marsh Lake's Eyes of the Eagle Sensory Trail is one of the few nature trails in Pennsylvania where a blindfold might come in handy.

Designed to be accessible to all visitors, including the visually impaired, while at the same time giving all our senses a brisk workout, the trail stretches along a smooth, wide, well-cleared path about a quarter-mile long.

Its course is marked with a hip-level guide-rope to support freedom of movement for the sight-impaired, but that same tactile guidance system offers a special opportunity for the fully sighted.

Cover the eyes with a blindfold, wait 10-15 minutes for the brain to tap into all the nonvisual senses more fully and then follow the rope along the trail.

A nonimpaired walking companion is recommended to assist in those spots where the trail offers short, one-way side-trips, such as to an observation platform overlooking a small woodland gorge or to the "olfactory wildlife garden," a large planting of native and ornamental plants with benefits for wildlife and strong fragrances from their blooms.

The sighted walker might want to follow the trail twice -- once with the blindfold and once with his eyes wide open -- to get the full effect of the place.

The trail puts us in touch with all our senses, both as it courses through a woodland-edge environment of diverse tree, shrub and herbaceous species that's alive with the songs of a dozen or more bird species and when it brings us to one of the half-dozen official stops along the way.

Stop 1: Wildlife Signs -- An interactive 3-D display of animal tracks cast in concrete. The tracks range from a man's boot print to the prints of a red fox to the webbed imprint of a goose's foot.

Stop 2: What's That You Smell -- Stop, sit on the bench and take a good whiff of whatever the forest is offering today, which could be anything from the fresh, sweet smell after a rainfall to rotting leaves on the forest floor.

Stop 3: Eagle Eyes -- Sit on the bench and try to crack the camouflage code of wildlife that might pass by.

Stop 4: Listen -- Another bench and another chance to pause and use yet another sense. Listen for insects chirping, birds singing, geese honking and distant roadway noises.

Stop 5: Discover Nature -- Reach in the box, touch objects ranging from pine cones to small stones and, without looking at them, identify each one.

Stop 6: Taste That -- Blackberry canes, a crabapple tree and some mint plants offer a range of tasty treats for humans, but the real point here is the levels of the sense of taste employed by wild things.

After completing the trail without sight, remove the blindfold and slowly retrace your steps, noting the different now that vision is once again dominating your experience.

Trailhead for the sensory trail is at parking lot D in the Dry Brooks Day Use Area of Blue March, off Palisades Drive, which leads south from Route 183, a few miles southeast of Bernville in Berks County.

For more information, call (610) 376-6337. 



http://www.pennlive.com/sports/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/sports/1117876926309940.xml&coll=1


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Memphis Business Journal
Monday, May 30, 2005

Architecture students tackle design for blind clients

By Jennifer Guarino

Conley Reilly stood in the courtyard at Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired and closed his eyes. He felt the wind brush across his skin and the warmth of the sun. Then he smelled the smoky stale air and used his hands to move about the space.

The University of Memphis architecture major was trying to imagine what it would feel like to be blind.

This semester Reilly and his 11 classmates in a second year architecture studio had the task of designing a patio for Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

The center provides individuals who are visually impaired with rehabilitative and employment programs and operates a paper cups and press-board file folders manufacturing operation.

Sam Tune, member of the Clovernook facilities board, approached University of Memphis architecture professor Michael Hagge with the idea. Vandals had damaged the patio space on the side of the building. The patio needed to be a safe and friendly place for the employees.

Not having a clear direction, Tune thought architecture students could lend their creativity. The students visited the facility and watched how the employees moved across the room. They watched how hands became tools for sight. This was the first time the students designed anything for someone who could not see.

"It became for the students a watching experience, which is what architecture is supposed to do," Hagge says.

Tune was impressed with how the students incorporated touch, smell and hearing into their designs. Students used relief plaques, ventilation, water features and aromatic gardens.

"The students tuned into things they had probably never had to think of before," Tune says.

Reilly's design for the space included an etched mural of the Memphis skyline.

"The skyline is taken for granted by everyone that comes in and out of Memphis. Some people may have never had the opportunity to see it. So that was my way of bringing functional artwork into the space," Reilly says.

Reilly says the project allowed him to use techniques he often overlooked when designing a space. It also gave him a chance to work for a real client, not a hypothetical one created by a professor.

"I was glad that this design was for a real client because I had the chance to see for myself what the area looked like," junior Reilly says.

"My design would have been completely different and unsuccessful if I had not gone down there and smelled the air and felt the atmosphere that the area created."

Clovernook leaders have taken the students' designs to a contractor to determine how to combine the best elements. They're working on determining a budget for the project so they can begin fundraising efforts. Tune says Clovernook has received a $500 grant from the Equal Employment Opportunity Council of Greater Memphis and Shelby County.

This assignment is just one of the many these students completed this spring in their architecture studio for real clients. Hagge says the program does not compete with local professionals, but allows students to create conceptual designs of actual locations.

"We have more people contacting us with projects than we have time to do. We have several already on the promised list for the future," he says.

Hagge's students have worked on a beatification project for the Uptown area's Lauderdale underpass. They've created concept plans for a park in Oakland, Tenn., and for a secondary building for a home in Central Gardens.

Student Chris Ashbrand says the feedback from clients is helpful.


"Working with actual clients, on real projects, in a valid environment better helps us as students understand what architects do in the profession," he says.

Jason Weeks, a 2001 graduate of the program and intern-architect with Looney Ricks Kiss Architects, says class assignments like these have been instrumental in shaping his approach to architecture.

"When you graduate and enter the work force, it's the community projects that help the transition the most. While working in studio classes you're taught to design and stretch your imagination," he says. "By introducing a real life project to the students, everyone benefits. The students get real project experience and the client gets a solution that addresses their problem."

Weeks is the treasurer of the University of Memphis' Architecture Alumni Association. He, along with Douglas Leininger and Oscar Andrade, both of Self Tucker Architects, started the organization last year to provide a link between students and graduates.

In the future, the group hopes to raise money to provide scholarships to architecture students and help graduating students find jobs in the field.

The program's graduates have made a mark in the community.

"Almost every architecture firm in Memphis has a graduate of the architecture program in their staff in a leadership role ranging from interns to principals," Andrade says.

Hagge isn't surprised by the graduates' desire to help current students.

"We teach that architects and architecture students have a responsibility to give to the community, whether through their time, their expertise, or their money," he says. "In essence, we are a family and this carries on even after graduation." 




http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2005/05/30/focus6.html?t=printable




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Daily Home, Alabama
Friday, May 06, 2005

ASB students launch rockets thanks to Toyota Time Grant

By Amanda Casciaro 

TALLADEGA - "5-4-3-2-1," said Derrick Smith, a math teacher at Alabama School 
for the Blind, as he counted down the seconds before the launch.
With a quick click of a button and a whistle from the rocket propelling into 
the clouds, the lesson continued.

"Whew, that one landed at Rite Aid," Smith said with a smile.

Math teachers Smith and Pamela Huling-Johnson helped ASB students of all ages 
launch and measure the distance of rockets on the school's front lawn Thursday 
as part of a program funded by a Toyota Time Grant.

In an effort to develop mathematical skills through the study of physics, the 
teachers spent some time outside after a long week of building rockets.

It was a nice break from classes, and students were still getting in their 
rocketry physics and trigonometry lessons.

The program was brought to the school through a $10,000 grant the teachers received from 
the National Council of Teachers and Mathematics and Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. to 
"implement bringing motion to mathematics through physics," according to an ASB 
press release.

All week, freshmen and juniors worked to build their own rockets, using 
plastic, fireproof paper and their own custom-built engines.

"It was fun," said Bethany Higgins, a ninth-grader in Smith's class. "I didn't think 
I would like it because building rockets is boy stuff, but I did. It was really fun."

Using rockets with A, B and C engines, the students tried to predict which 
creations would go the farthest.

Some weren't so lucky.

"My rocket had technical difficulties the first time around," said ninth-grader Unique 
Woods. "I had to take the cone off and put everything back inside."

On her second try, Unique's rocket soared to the sky. Looks like the hard work 
did pay off in the end.

"It just depends on you putting the wire in," said 15-year-old Dakota Green. "If 
it's not touching, it's not going to work."

While some students were shooting off rockets and trying to repair the damage 
if it didn't work, other sophomores and seniors were at the other end of the 
field calculating the rocket's maximum height and distance.

"We're calculating the degree measure of the flight of the rocket with 
hypsometers," said Dustin Jones, a 10th-grader in geometry.

Students took turns using different instruments, including one that made them 
follow the path of the rockets by looking through a tube.

To help each other out, the others and Huling-Johnson said, "Max," once the 
rockets hit their highest altitude and the parachutes came out to signal their descent.

Huling-Johnson recorded the data for calculations they would use back in the 
classroom.

"Seeing it applied this way they can use it in novel settings. It also helps to 
learn about collecting data," she said.

But for the students, it was about more than just another lesson.

Especially this late in the game, getting outside to enjoy the sunshine was a 
nice break from sitting in class.

"This is much better," said Tanika Patton, a ninth-grader. "It got us out of science, and it's more hands-on." 



http://www.dailyhome.com/news/2005/dh-talladega-0506-acasciaro-5e05v5816.htm




--
Bl
NPR National Public Radio
Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Blind Biologist Finds Clues to Human Societies in Shells

By Richard Harris 

CAPTION: Gary Vermeij, a researcher at the University of California at Davis, 
thinks biological law applies to human endeavors as well.

Morning Edition, May 25, 2005 · California professor Gary Vermeij thinks he's 
found clues to the power of nations and multinational corporations -- by studying 
seashells. During his 35-year career, this biologist has overcome significant 
obstacles to carry out his research. He has been blind since age 3.

(Audio program available on source page).

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4665906



Tucson Citizen, Arizona
Thursday, May 26, 2005

Blind blues musician's photo hobby spawns gallery showing

By BRETT MARTEL, The Associated Press 

CAPTION: Renowned blues pianist Henry Butler takes photographs after a gig in 
the French Quarter of New Orleans. Butler, who is blind, is showing his 
photographs in a New Orleans gallery.  Photos by CHERYL GERBER/Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS - Renowned blues pianist Henry Butler imagined a human knee as he 
put his hands against the knots of a tree limb in New Orleans' Audubon Park.
Intrigued by the image he could visualize but not see, the blind musician 
stepped back, pulled out the camera he carries and snapped a photograph.

A blind man as photo artist? Now there's a novel concept.

But it's not one to be dismissed out of hand, say some who can see and have 
made a living dealing in art.

"It's amazing to me how he does what he does," says Jonathan Ferrara, whose downtown New 
Orleans gallery showcases an array of paintings and photographs. "It's very intuitive and 
there's almost a surreal quality to it. I mean, a blind photographer?"

The two tree limbs were among the nearly three dozen Butler photos that made up an 
exhibit at Ferrara's gallery earlier this month, "How Eye See It."

From the angle and distance at which the images were captured, some viewers saw a resemblance between the tree limbs and a human leg, one slightly bent at the knee. 

"It defies reason that these photos would be good, but they are because there is a 
thought-out composition," Ferrara says. "There is an editing process that goes into it 
and a quality factor. The images are pretty good and there's also the diversity: nature shots, 
people images, Mardi Gras-type images."

Butler has displayed his photos periodically around the country, usually at 
music events. However, his works have not previously been the marquee exhibit 
in a commercial gallery, and rarely have his pictures been critically reviewed.

Professional photographers are mixed about Butler's work, saying that while 
some shots are ridiculous, others are good.

His work was exhibited at Ferrara's because of the New Orleans Jazz and 
Heritage Festival earlier this month, where Butler performed.

Butler, who lost his sight to glaucoma as an infant, has a sighted assistant 
help him with matters such as aiming the camera as well as developing and 
editing photos.

Butler chooses the subjects, takes the pictures and makes editing decisions 
based on what the assistant says. He started with film but now primarily uses 
digital cameras.

He doesn't really care what others think, even if he stands to gain a little 
extra cash from the photos, priced from $325 to $800.

"I didn't start doing this for anybody else, and I didn't start doing it to earn a 
living. My main thing is music," Butler says.

When he talks in a booming baritone, his words are well enunciated and at a 
deliberate pace, as if he's reflecting carefully about each sentence. He comes 
off as kind of a deep, philosophical thinker - one with huge, Herculean hands 
that pound the piano keys and make an octave seem tiny.

He began the photography hobby in 1984 while living in Los Angeles, where his 
musical career included consulting on talent development for Stevie Wonder and 
Motown Records. There, he periodically attended art exhibits with friends, who 
would try to describe featured works.

"I could grasp what they were saying intellectually, but I felt this emptiness like I 
wasn't getting everything," Butler recalls. "Now I feel a part of at least making 
some visual art.

"I know I probably won't be able to get the total picture, so to speak, because I'm 
still not seeing it. But at least I'm feeling more of what photographers feel when taking 
pictures and I know some of reasons why they want to take pictures in the first 
place."

There's a series of photographs Butler shot of filmmaker Woody Allen playing 
clarinet. It captures Allen in various poses and expressions and looks as if a 
sighted person took them.

Other photos clearly were guided by senses other than sight. One of a Mardi 
Gras reveler captures the top half of a head, but in doing so brings the focus 
to the subject's smiling eyes and the hanging strands of braids that frame the 
individual's tall forehead.

"I thought the eyes were enough," to keep the photo as part of his collection, Butler 
says. "Sometimes when I've taken a photo, the head is cut off, but as I'm listening to people 
describing things in the image, I think, 'This still has some value.' "
Another photo captures a woman's upper torso adorned with dozens of jingling 
keys that were part of her Mardi Gras costume.

A man whose face is painted blue has positioned his head behind her shoulder as 
if to pose for a photo that he expected would turn out as head shots of the 
pair.

But the keys grabbed Butler's attention and dominate the photograph.

All that's visible of the man is his blue-painted chin and lower lip.

"You almost have to look at it as conceptual art. It's not just about images but about what 
he's doing," Ferrara says. "And let's be frank: If the work wasn't any good, I wouldn't 
be showing it. It's not a gimmick. I don't have that kind of gallery."

Butler enjoys photographing landscapes at sunset. One shot captures soft, 
reflected light from train rails that arch slightly as they disappear into a 
silhouetted tree line backlit by glow of the descending sun.

While many who can see love sunsets for their color, such as the orange, pink 
and red hues that emerge at that time of day, Butler's inspiration is a little 
different.

"Sunset denotes a change in energy," he says. "While I'm standing out there, 
it's definitely more obvious. The feeling against my face is different. You feel less invasive 
light, changing heat and energy against the face and body.

"Each phase of that can be interesting to capture, especially if you're near a big 
body of water or some object that helps to reflect the light energy."



http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php?page=calendar&story_id=052605ca_blind_photographe&page_number=1



Voice of Vietnam
Friday, June 03, 2005

Blind children paint the world through feelings

Arriving at the exhibition, I was so impressed by the beautiful paintings, which were 
mostly still life paintings such as a vase of colorful flowers, a tray of fruit, a cat, 
and a mother and child. There were also paintings of birds flying in the sky, children 
playing, green rice fields, an orchid and even a scene of the ocean. If I didn't see them 
drawing the pictures on the spot, I would not have believed that visually impaired 
children could perform such miracles. Luong Quoc Hung, 12, is visual impaired: "I'm 
drawing the deep blue ocean, where people are swimming. They are surrounded by fish, 
snails, and turtles. I use colours such as red, yellow, and blue."

13 years old Bui Tien Thanh's vision has gotten worsen in recent years, now he is drawing 
what he remembers of the surroundings. "I like drawing landscapes. A mountain is 
triangular and there are also the trees. Previously, I drew with wax pencils because I 
can feel the wax on the paper. Now I'm learning to draw with water colours."

Young Tran Ngoc Loan was born blind, so her paintings look abstract and surreal. "I 
am drawing a mother and child holding each other's hands on a walk. I like the colour 
orange, because I think it's very pretty and bright. I also like drawing landscapes, 
especially rice fields. I use green and yellow for rice fields, above which birds are 
flying in the sky."

This was the first time children from the Nguyen Dinh Chieu School Fort The Blind have 
exhibited their masterpieces to the public after five years of studying. The classes were 
started by Swedish ceramic artist, Elizabeth Person, who suffers from a vision problem 
and will be blind one day. Ms Person cooperated with painter Tham Duc Tu, who has taught 
children to paint for over 30 years, and opened a class for visually impaired and blind 
children. At first, many people doubted the feasibility of the painting class for blind 
children but it turned out to be a success. Painter Tu said the principle is to teach 
students how to draw with their mind and not their sight. "It's really a hard job to 
teach visual impaired children to paint, but it's not impossible. They are 
underprivileged in one sense, but more developed in other senses, such as their 
imagination, sense of feeling and hearing. Painting serves as a communication channel to 
help them balance their emotions. It's not necessary or impossible to teach them how to 
paint a specific object. I only guide them to express their feelings through sketches and 
colours."

Mr Tu has a teaching method that he calls "giving children a hand". Colours are arranged from hot to cool from left to right. Teachers explain to the children the basic principles of lay-out, using colours and back ground paper. Children draw on a special easel and its surface is depressed when it is pressed. They keep pencils in one hand, while the other hand touches lines imprinted on paper. At first they draw what they can touch such as a person, a cat, a flower, a tree, and then they capture scenery around them. Paintings by blind children seem to follow the abstract school as objects are tottering and hovering in a disorderly fashion. But the way they use color is impressive and expresses their inner-feelings and the way they imagine the world of their sub-conscience. A visitor to the exhibition shared her view and said "Paintings by visually impaired children touched me immensely. They draw what they feel of life around them. I agree with painter Tu's view that we should feel the emotion in these pieces and not try to see them." 


http://www.vov.org.vn/2005_06_02/english/xahoi1.htm#Blindchildrenpainttheworldthroughfeelings












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