Marcia Selsor on fri 6 feb 98
I have had a few blind students. One young man was blind from an attempted
suicide. He was a wonderful potter. I used to ask him to demonstrate for the
seeing students. He figured a way to mark calibres using a clay slab by his
wheel. All our chemical bins have brail labels.
Marcia in Montana
Cheryl L Litman on sat 7 feb 98
Last summer I took an advanced handbuilding class and as a warm up
exercise our instructor had us select an object from a bag with our eyes
closed. For the most part we could tell by feel what she had in the bag
- sea shells, pods, bones, gourds - basically interesting natural found
objects. Without looking we had to feel the object for about 3 minutes
to "absorb" it's essence. The first piece we made was one which
reproduced that object. The second piece was to exaggerate the part of
the object which our hands liked best.
Cheryl Litman
Somerset, NJ
email: cheryllitman@juno.com
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June MacDonald on thu 26 apr 07
I have just started teaching a blind student. Handling the clay, wedging, centering, is going very well as I expected it would. I can not forsee any problems with her learning to trim. But, looking ahead to the next phase when glazing is the order of the day, I am puzzled about how I can effectively get her to wax the bottoms without wax going where it shouldn't, and how to glaze with her getting the right amount of glaze on the pot.
Has anyone out there had any related experience? Suggestions welcome!
June
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Alisha Clarke on fri 27 apr 07
June,
I've never tried to teach a blind person to do pottery, but I have a
friend and co-worker (a computer programmer) who is blind. I think the
most common mistake in working with an individual with a disability is
in trying to force them into a model that doesn't account for their
needs. I find that with my friend, it often works best to explain the
situation and invite her to participate in coming up with a solution
that works for her. That solution may be to not use wax, but instead
sponge off the glaze from the areas that would have been waxed.
The idea, however, is to not assume that you as a sighted person can
come up with the best solution for a person who is blind, unless you
want to spend some time doing it blindfolded yourself to get an idea
of what she's dealing with. But even then, you most likely will still
not be able to gain a full appreciation of the skills she has
developed to adapt to her abilities.
Don't be afraid to tell her that you don't know the best approach and
that you need her to be active in finding a solution that works best.
Leesh
On 4/26/07, June MacDonald wrote:
> I have just started teaching a blind student. Handling the clay, wedging, centering, is going very well as I expected it would. I can not forsee any problems with her learning to trim. But, looking ahead to the next phase when glazing is the order of the day, I am puzzled about how I can effectively get her to wax the bottoms without wax going where it shouldn't, and how to glaze with her getting the right amount of glaze on the pot.
>
> Has anyone out there had any related experience? Suggestions welcome!
>
> June
>
>
>
>
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alisha Clarke
www.alishaclarke.com
Melissa Michael on fri 27 apr 07
June - I found (with my visually impaired student) that if I poured a little of the water soluable wax into a shallow container and had her "dip" her piece in, that it worked well as opposed to her painting it on. When your student begins to glaze, ask them to pick a tactile and recognizable spot on the pot to start. Have them paint all the way around until they return to the starting spot. Repeat with as many coats as needed. Glazing was the most difficult part for my student as well because of it's lack of texture when applied!
Good luck!
Melissa
Mortgage refinance is Hot. *Terms. Get a 5.375%* fix rate. Check savings
sacredclay on fri 27 apr 07
I had a blind student once. Went well with my being deaf, as we became
each other's missing senses. I always did the waxing and glazing for
him. Since he used to see (blinded from a pool pump blowing up when he
turned it on), I'd describe the colors and how the look and my
emotional responses toit. Basically, I think it'd be very difficult if
a sighted person didn't help out in that area. Perhaps to retain the
independence of the artist, she might consider firing it to maturity
without the glaze, especially if she's sculptural. Kathryn in NC
Bonita Cohn on mon 30 apr 07
as an alternative to wax, I recently learned from
another teacher the method of using masking tape on
the bottoms. Perhaps your student can feel where the
tape is applied 1/4" up the piece, as a border and do
it that way. This method works well to prevent glaze
from getting on the bottoms, on pieces that are glazed
by brushing the material on the pot.
An advantage is that no waxy residue is on the hands,
and Masking tape is inexpensive and not so messy..
Good luck!
Bonita in San Francisco
Bonita Cohn
http://www.bonitacohn.com
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The Hendriks on wed 19 sep 07
Hello All,
In response to my advertisements about pottery classes at my studio I recei=
ved an interesting call. A woman is looking for an activity to do with her =
daughter. Her daughter has had brain tumours and treatment for them since s=
he was 6 months old. She is now 18. The tumours and treatment have left her=
legally blind (she can see light and dark but only from very close) and me=
ntally limited to a grade 1 or 2 level. I have taught many different kinds =
of people with success but I have never worked with anyone with this kind o=
f disability. I'm fairly sure that I could work with a blind adult but I'm =
worried that this young woman's mental age would hinder the amount of commu=
nication necessary to teach claywork when no visual demonstrating is possib=
le.
I would like to help. I have great sympathy for this family -the mother hin=
ted that she didn't think that her daughter has long to live -and their liv=
es have been difficult for a long time. On the other hand, I advertise pott=
ery classes because I need to turn my skills into cash. (remember all my pr=
evious posts about studio renovations? -the bills have just been rolling in=
!)
Any suggestions you all have about how to teach in this situation would be =
helpful. I probably shouldn't include this girl in one of my regular classe=
s -even though she will likely come with an aide -because the division of m=
y attention wouldn't be fair to the other students. I have many questions..=
.How to price, how long to make the sessions, how many sessions, techniques=
, and so on... I'm counting on you to help me clarify my thinking on how to=
proceed ...as you have done so many times before!
Blessings,
Eleanor Hendriks
_________________________________________________________________
News, entertainment and everything you care about at Live.com. Get it now!
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Stan Upchurch on wed 19 sep 07
As a person who is blind and a potter. I reccomend that you teach her. It will be good for both of you.
Stan U.
-----Original Message-----
From: The Hendriks
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Sent: Wed, 19 Sep 2007 5:50 pm
Subject: Teaching the Blind
Hello All,
In response to my advertisements about pottery classes at my studio I received
an interesting call. A woman is looking for an activity to do with her daughter.
Her daughter has had brain tumours and treatment for them since she was 6 months
old. She is now 18. The tumours and treatment have left her legally blind (she
can see light and dark but only from very close) and mentally limited to a grade
1 or 2 level. I have taught many different kinds of people with success but I
have never worked with anyone with this kind of disability. I'm fairly sure that
I could work with a blind adult but I'm worried that this young woman's mental
age would hinder the amount of communication necessary to teach claywork when no
visual demonstrating is possible.
I would like to help. I have great sympathy for this family -the mother hinted
that she didn't think that her daughter has long to live -and their lives have
been difficult for a long time. On the other hand, I advertise pottery classes
because I need to turn my skills into cash. (remember all my previous posts
about studio renovations? -the bills have just been rolling in!)
Any suggestions you all have about how to teach in this situation would be
helpful. I probably shouldn't include this girl in one of my regular classes
-even though she will likely come with an aide -because the division of my
attention wouldn't be fair to the other students. I have many questions...How to
price, how long to make the sessions, how many sessions, techniques, and so
on... I'm counting on you to help me clarify my thinking on how to proceed ...as
you have done so many times before!
Blessings,
Eleanor Hendriks
_________________________________________________________________
News, entertainment and everything you care about at Live.com. Get it now!
http://www.live.com/getstarted.aspx
______________________________________________________________________________
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
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Barbara Francis on thu 20 sep 07
Hi Eleanor,
I am a potter and also have a degree in Blind Rehab. I have had some experience teaching people pottery who are blind, and there are also some comments in the archives, since this question has come up before.
1. Be organized. Have materials on a tray where she can easily locate everything.
2. Don't be afraid to be hands on. If words don't work, put your hands on hers.
3. Be specific in verbal instructions. ie. "over there" doesn't work.
4. Keep your lessons simple. Use cardboard templets if need be.
5. Probably dipping glazes would work a lot better than painting them on. It's very difficult to tell where you have painted otherwise.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head. You can write back with more specific questions. Pricing is hard. I am currently working with a lady who had brain damage at no cost. I consider it a mission, but I know the bills need to be paid. She can only work for no more that an hour, if that long, before she tires out. You will have to evaluate what all this girl can do, and how long you can hold her attention, etc.
I hope all goes well, if you decide to take this on.
Barb Francis
The Hendriks wrote:
Hello All,
In response to my advertisements about pottery classes at my studio I received an interesting call. A woman is looking for an activity to do with her daughter. Her daughter has had brain tumours and treatment for them since she was 6 months old. She is now 18. The tumours and treatment have left her legally blind (she can see light and dark but only from very close) and mentally limited to a grade 1 or 2 level. I have taught many different kinds of people with success but I have never worked with anyone with this kind of disability. I'm fairly sure that I could work with a blind adult but I'm worried that this young woman's mental age would hinder the amount of communication necessary to teach claywork when no visual demonstrating is possible.
I would like to help. I have great sympathy for this family -the mother hinted that she didn't think that her daughter has long to live -and their lives have been difficult for a long time. On the other hand, I advertise pottery classes because I need to turn my skills into cash. (remember all my previous posts about studio renovations? -the bills have just been rolling in!)
Any suggestions you all have about how to teach in this situation would be helpful. I probably shouldn't include this girl in one of my regular classes -even though she will likely come with an aide -because the division of my attention wouldn't be fair to the other students. I have many questions...How to price, how long to make the sessions, how many sessions, techniques, and so on... I'm counting on you to help me clarify my thinking on how to proceed ...as you have done so many times before!
Blessings,
Eleanor Hendriks
_________________________________________________________________
News, entertainment and everything you care about at Live.com. Get it now!
http://www.live.com/getstarted.aspx
______________________________________________________________________________
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots2@visi.com
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