L. P. Skeen on fri 9 aug 02
Greetings y'all. I have been asked by a local parent to teach sculpture =
to her 12yo daughter who has been blind since birth. Boy did I feel =
stupid when they came to visit the studio yesterday; kept walking in =
front of the girl telling her what she was about to run into - which =
most often was ME! Anyway, I know NADA about teaching blind people =
(duh, kept trying to tell her the clay was brown....) so I need any help =
y'all can offer.
Thanks.
L
L. P. Skeen www.living-tree.net
Living Tree Studios, Summerfield, NC
I started with nothing and I still have most of it!
Penni Stoddart on sat 10 aug 02
As contact person for our guild I once was contacted by the support workers
of a blind and deaf woman who wanted the woman to "get out and do something
different". I ended up not only showing these people how our studio worked
but also giving the blind and deaf woman several "lessons". We did hand
building mostly although I did sit on the wheel with her on the other side
and the workers helped guide her hands to the spinning clay. Made a heck of
a mess but she was smiling.
This situation was made very difficult as there was no communication between
myself and the woman. However, what I did was to give her a lump of clay and
hand over hand helped her do a pinch pot. It kept turnign into a plate so I
got a mug out of our kiln room and let her feel the finished product then
her pieces became more bowl like with walls. I showed her coil method and
she took that and started taking bits of clay off a lump infront of her and
flatening them and then sticking them on the walls of the pot to make it
higher. her finsished pieces were VERY rough but also very interesting.
Not sure any of this helps your situation. I guess all I am saying is
instead of telling and letting her watch you. You have to do alot of hand
overhand teaching. Let her feel what your hands are doing as you do it.
~~~~
Penni Stoddart of Penelope's Pots
Now acting as PAST President,
Artisans London (Ontario, Canada)
I live in my own little world, but it's ok... they know me here
Jeremy McLeod on sat 10 aug 02
> Boy did I feel stupid when they came to visit the studio yesterday; kept walking in front of the girl telling her what she was about to run into - which most often was ME! Anyway, I know NADA about teaching blind people (duh, kept trying to tell her the clay was brown....) so I need any help y'all can offer.
Since the girl is 12, she'll be able to teach you a lot about herself and others.
One suggestion. Spend a day in your studio (obviously not a day in which you're in
high level production) blindfolded and working with clay. You'll learn a lot about
what it means to encounter clay (and your studio!) in tactile and proprioceptive ways.
Then how about taking the risk of working with your student while blindfolded and having her
show you how she encounters and experiences the clay.
I once had an 18 y/o friend blind from birth who took great glee shaking up sighted adults by
doing things like climbing 60' oak trees. He loved the challenge of making a 3-D mental
map as he climbed so he could retrace his steps on the desent. I didn't invite him to teach me
about tree climbing, however. :-)
Sounds like a wonderful, challenging student/teacher relationship!
Jeremy McLeod
Jeff Longtin on sat 10 aug 02
Hey L,
While I haven't taught blind kids I have talked with blind adults about
blindness and their experiences in developing Sixdot Braille mugs.
By and large blind people tell me they like it when someone is respectful of
their blindness but not intimidated by it. Admittedly when I first started
showing blind people braille mugs I was rather awkward, "Does it look good?"
Do you like what you see?". Of course I made a fool of myself but people
understood I was sincere and were very patient with me.
When people call to order a Sixdot mug inevitably people will presume I'm
blind. (I guess they figure no one else would be fool enough to spend 10
years developing it?) When I say something that suggests otherwise it open's
the door to the "Oh you're not blind?...And you are?" conversation.
In my experience, at least, blind people have been very willing to discuss
the effects of blindness on their lives. Its really amazing to have our (my)
assumptions blown out of the water regarding what it is like to be blind. I
spoke to one woman who, because she can't drive, is basically housebound, on
the one hand, and on the other, spoke to a blind woman who has 10
grandchildren (wanted a braille mug for each) and was in a hurry because she
was late for an appointment.
Some blind people treat blindness as a mild inconvenience, while others lead
lives that are deeply affected by it. It just depends.
I would offer you two bits of sdvice;
1. Allow yourself to find out where your hangups are by just stepping back
and allowing this girl to act as any child would in your home/in your studio.
Blind kids may break a few pots sighted kids may break a few pots. How do you
respond to kids, in general, in your studio? Rather than presume she wants to
know this/she wants to know that focus instead on the aspects she's their to
learn (how to do this/how to do that). If she wants to know the color of the
clay go ahead and tell her. If she doesn't ask maybe its not important to her.
2. Be honest with this child. Trust me, blind people can pick up right away
if you're uncomfortable with their blindness. If you are, and you want to
have a sincere relationship with this girl, I would suggest you let her know
you've not worked with a blind person before and that you'll need her to
teach you about her experience as much as she'll need you to teach her about
yours. Maybe you'll both learn something in the process!
Note: I've not worked with 12 yr olds so my suggestions may be a bit
misplaced. I just know this has worked best in my interactions with adults
who are blind.
Best of luck and have fun. Blind people like to laugh just like the rest of
us. (Or as one blind woman told me "I may be blind but it doesn't mean I
don't have a sense of humor!")
Take care
Jeff Longtin
Sixdot Braille Products
Wayne Bien on sat 10 aug 02
What I have found in teaching blind students is that their sense of touch
is much more developed than a sighted student. I had a female student
blind from birth, who could make coils so perfect they looked like they
had come from an extruder. She just needed help with the slip to build a
pot. I had some success with pinch pots also. I found that making slabs,
was not enough hands on, and was not very successful. I hope this helps.
Wayne
Anji Henderson on sat 10 aug 02
Wow what a challenge!!
With my grandmother it was rather easy to teach her
things and she became blind really late in life.. So
my feeling is that someone that grew up blind should
have a better understand of there surroundings...
Now when you said that the parents had to keep her
from bumping in to you that leads me to believe that
maybe she has not honed in on her senses.. I have met
blind people that can smell you and know exactly where
you are from smell and I have met blind people that
need you to hold there hand and tell them every step..
So first you would have to figure out where the child
is in her abilities..
I personally would probably contact the parent and
tell them that I am not fluent with dealing with the
blind and offer to spend a couple hours free with the
girl to see if you two can actually manage together..
In that couple hours I would require that the parent
go someplace or or stay out of the way and not help..
Then I would explain where everything is and walk her
through .. Starting at the door to come in and going
in a true and concise pattern through the studio ..
Not veering off in to other things you think of but
quite simply "I am going to show you the studio,
we are at the door where you will be coming in. I will
tell you the location of all the big tools then when
we are learning I will explain how they work.. to the
left is the wheels and to the right is the pug mill
.........." Walk her steps.. let her touch to see
hight - distance- and all .. go over the things you
have already seen like while you are here at the pug
mill the wheels are five feet behind you on the other
side of the room.. Warn her that if she is going in a
direction and hears a machine running not to touch it
because some of it can prove dangerous and it is
better to call out that she lost direction then to
touch a running machine to figure out where she is ..
Then maybe you could do a small hand-building
project... And ask her about the layout .. All the
while studying where she is in her self to move about
the studio..
It can be great fun and incredibly rewarding if she is
good with her boundaries.. If she genuinely pays no
attention to her surroundings and does things in the
studio that equate bumping in to you then I would be
concerned about a liability, and it could end up being
a draining super baby sitting job... But you dont know
till you test her abilities with out her mother to
baby her.. Some kids do silly things like not paying
attention because they know mom or dad is there to
catch them and then be the most responsible alert
person when that fail safe (mom-Dad) is gone..
So first thing you figure out is are you going to be a
nervous nelly the whole time or are you up for the
challenge.. Because I am not going to lie to you at
first is is scarry and a super huge challenge but once
you have done it it's nothing but a thing...
Anji
--- "L. P. Skeen"
<lpskeen@LIVING-TREE.NET> wrote:
> Greetings y'all. I have been asked by a local
> parent to teach sculpture to her 12yo daughter
who
> has been blind since birth. Boy did I feel
stupid
> when they came to visit the studio yesterday;
kept
> walking in front of the girl telling her what she
> was about to run into - which most often was
ME!<G>
> Anyway, I know NADA about teaching blind people
> (duh, kept trying to tell her the clay was
> brown....) so I need any help y'all can offer.
>
> Thanks.
>
> L
=====
Good art does not have to match your sofa!!
-Fred Babb
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
HotJobs - Search Thousands of New Jobs
http://www.hotjobs.com
Andi Fasimpaur on sat 10 aug 02
At 09:57 PM 8/9/02 -0400, you wrote:
>Greetings y'all. I have been asked by a local parent to teach sculpture
>to her 12yo daughter who has been blind since birth. Boy did I feel
>stupid when they came to visit the studio yesterday; kept walking in front
>of the girl telling her what she was about to run into - which most often
>was ME! Anyway, I know NADA about teaching blind people (duh, kept
>trying to tell her the clay was brown....) so I need any help y'all can offer.
>
>Thanks.
>
>L
Some things which occur to me off the top of my head. Talk to the student.
She's 12 years old, she's had some practice getting around and learning new
things. Ask her what you can do to help her.
Ask her for suggestions as to how you can make the space where she will be
working function better for her and then pay close attention to her
answers. You will learn a lot about ergonomic workspace design.
Encourage her to, as Russel would say, Fondle pots... lots of them, by as
many different artists as possible. Let her handle handbuilt pots, feel the
variations in the wall thickness of a coiled pot vs a thrown pot, vs a slab
or pinched pot... Weight, texture, shape, etc will be much more important
and you will probably notice an impact on your own work...
glaze colors aren't going to matter as much as glaze texture, there is an
infinite range of texture between Glossy and Matt, not to mention some of
the special effects glazes like a cratered glaze or a crawling glaze...
Once you get a work area established for her, try not to disturb it... we
can look for things that are missing, she will need to feel around for
them, and in my studio, that might be hazardous... get in the habit of
putting needle tools point first into a block of sponge or other receptive
surface, the same with knives.
Do a search online for Blind Pottery... you may find websites for blind
potters and sculptors who have information about how they work, or how they
learned... I did a cursory search and found the link below. it is
information about Pottery Classes for the Partially Sighted and Blind.
Perhaps you could write a letter to the instructor for more information. If
you include your email address, maybe she can reply via email to reduce the
communications lag.
http://www.hants.gov.uk/istcclr/cch03728.html
Good luck and enjoy the adventure... you'll learn a lot about pottery from
a different perspective.
L. P. Skeen on sat 10 aug 02
Thanks Jeff. What exactly is a sixdot braille mug?
L
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeff Longtin"
To:
Sent: Saturday, August 10, 2002 10:36 AM
Subject: Re: teaching blind students
> Hey L,
> While I haven't taught blind kids I have talked with blind adults about
> blindness and their experiences in developing Sixdot Braille mugs.
> By and large blind people tell me they like it when someone is respectful
of
> their blindness but not intimidated by it. Admittedly when I first started
> showing blind people braille mugs I was rather awkward, "Does it look
good?"
> Do you like what you see?". Of course I made a fool of myself but people
> understood I was sincere and were very patient with me.
> When people call to order a Sixdot mug inevitably people will presume I'm
> blind. (I guess they figure no one else would be fool enough to spend 10
> years developing it?) When I say something that suggests otherwise it
open's
> the door to the "Oh you're not blind?...And you are?" conversation.
> In my experience, at least, blind people have been very willing to discuss
> the effects of blindness on their lives. Its really amazing to have our
(my)
> assumptions blown out of the water regarding what it is like to be blind.
I
> spoke to one woman who, because she can't drive, is basically housebound,
on
> the one hand, and on the other, spoke to a blind woman who has 10
> grandchildren (wanted a braille mug for each) and was in a hurry because
she
> was late for an appointment.
> Some blind people treat blindness as a mild inconvenience, while others
lead
> lives that are deeply affected by it. It just depends.
>
> I would offer you two bits of sdvice;
>
> 1. Allow yourself to find out where your hangups are by just stepping back
> and allowing this girl to act as any child would in your home/in your
studio.
> Blind kids may break a few pots sighted kids may break a few pots. How do
you
> respond to kids, in general, in your studio? Rather than presume she wants
to
> know this/she wants to know that focus instead on the aspects she's their
to
> learn (how to do this/how to do that). If she wants to know the color of
the
> clay go ahead and tell her. If she doesn't ask maybe its not important to
her.
>
> 2. Be honest with this child. Trust me, blind people can pick up right
away
> if you're uncomfortable with their blindness. If you are, and you want to
> have a sincere relationship with this girl, I would suggest you let her
know
> you've not worked with a blind person before and that you'll need her to
> teach you about her experience as much as she'll need you to teach her
about
> yours. Maybe you'll both learn something in the process!
>
> Note: I've not worked with 12 yr olds so my suggestions may be a bit
> misplaced. I just know this has worked best in my interactions with adults
> who are blind.
>
> Best of luck and have fun. Blind people like to laugh just like the rest
of
> us. (Or as one blind woman told me "I may be blind but it doesn't mean I
> don't have a sense of humor!")
>
> Take care
> Jeff Longtin
> Sixdot Braille Products
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> 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
melpots@pclink.com.
>
L. P. Skeen on sat 10 aug 02
Hey Andi, thanks for the link. Duh, as 'net freakish as I am I never
thought to look up such a thing. Eydie DeVincenzi said there is an art for
the blind place in Raleigh; might have to do a field trip. This will
definitely be interesting.........
L
----- Original Message -----
From: "Andi Fasimpaur"
To:
Sent: Saturday, August 10, 2002 2:02 PM
Subject: Re: teaching blind students
> At 09:57 PM 8/9/02 -0400, you wrote:
> >Greetings y'all. I have been asked by a local parent to teach sculpture
> >to her 12yo daughter who has been blind since birth. Boy did I feel
> >stupid when they came to visit the studio yesterday; kept walking in
front
> >of the girl telling her what she was about to run into - which most often
> >was ME! Anyway, I know NADA about teaching blind people (duh, kept
> >trying to tell her the clay was brown....) so I need any help y'all can
offer.
> >
> >Thanks.
> >
> >L
>
> Some things which occur to me off the top of my head. Talk to the student.
> She's 12 years old, she's had some practice getting around and learning
new
> things. Ask her what you can do to help her.
>
> Ask her for suggestions as to how you can make the space where she will be
> working function better for her and then pay close attention to her
> answers. You will learn a lot about ergonomic workspace design.
>
> Encourage her to, as Russel would say, Fondle pots... lots of them, by as
> many different artists as possible. Let her handle handbuilt pots, feel
the
> variations in the wall thickness of a coiled pot vs a thrown pot, vs a
slab
> or pinched pot... Weight, texture, shape, etc will be much more important
> and you will probably notice an impact on your own work...
>
> glaze colors aren't going to matter as much as glaze texture, there is an
> infinite range of texture between Glossy and Matt, not to mention some of
> the special effects glazes like a cratered glaze or a crawling glaze...
>
> Once you get a work area established for her, try not to disturb it... we
> can look for things that are missing, she will need to feel around for
> them, and in my studio, that might be hazardous... get in the habit of
> putting needle tools point first into a block of sponge or other receptive
> surface, the same with knives.
>
> Do a search online for Blind Pottery... you may find websites for blind
> potters and sculptors who have information about how they work, or how
they
> learned... I did a cursory search and found the link below. it is
> information about Pottery Classes for the Partially Sighted and Blind.
> Perhaps you could write a letter to the instructor for more information.
If
> you include your email address, maybe she can reply via email to reduce
the
> communications lag.
>
> http://www.hants.gov.uk/istcclr/cch03728.html
>
> Good luck and enjoy the adventure... you'll learn a lot about pottery from
> a different perspective.
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> 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
melpots@pclink.com.
>
Linda Rosen on sat 10 aug 02
I had a blind-from-birth student in one of my classes that I enjoyed very
much for his unflagging enthusiasm. It was very important to him to know
what the colour of everything was although I would have assumed that his
main interest would be texture. He attended with a facilitator which was
great as the class was large and I would have had safety concerns especially
around the wheels ( we had electric flywheels at that location). We did
introduce the wheel to him and if he had been a private student and I could
have sat with him working hand over hand, I am sure he would have been able
to throw ( why not?). In our situation hand building made more sense ( the
facilitator was a novice too) It was important for his success to have
samples he could examine with his hands. Simple slump and hump mold projects
using textured slabs were the most successful from my point of view, but in
the end he most enjoyed tiles and took on a project of making enough tiles,
impressed with a leaf print, to install a kitchen backsplash at his family
cottage. He was immensely proud of that project. He also made simple
cylinder mugs as gifts for everyone he knew ! He was an asset to the class ,
knew everyone's name before I did and generally made the mornings a bit
brighter for all involved.!. The experience was Definitely worth the extra
thought I had to put into remembering to paint full word pictures of
everything I did (No more, "do it like this.") I brought in an article one
day reviewing a gallery exhibition of the work of a blind artist. The show
had been set up behind a wall and sighted visitors had "viewed" the works by
touch through hand holes . My whole group found the concept intriguing . I
think you could do some similar set up with a blind student's work for
discussion purposes in a mixed class . It could help integrate the student
and give his work value in the "eyes" of his fellows. I am sorry that I
don't remember the show details now but maybe someone else on the list will.
There is also a ceramic texture wall installed at a local school for the
blind . An appropriate variation on the ubiquitous school mural. Maybe
something similar exists in your area and your student could visit it.
Have fun
Linda
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On
> Behalf Of L. P. Skeen
> Sent: August 9, 2002 9:57 PM
> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> Subject: teaching blind students
>
>
> Greetings y'all. I have been asked by a local parent to teach
> sculpture to her 12yo daughter who has been blind since birth.
> Boy did I feel stupid when they came to visit the studio
> yesterday; kept walking in front of the girl telling her what she
> was about to run into - which most often was ME! Anyway, I
> know NADA about teaching blind people (duh, kept trying to tell
> her the clay was brown....) so I need any help y'all can offer.
>
> Thanks.
>
> L
>
>
>
> L. P. Skeen www.living-tree.net
> Living Tree Studios, Summerfield, NC
> I started with nothing and I still have most of it!
>
> __________________________________________________________________
> ____________
> 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
> melpots@pclink.com.
Wood Jeanne on sun 11 aug 02
Hi Lisa,
I was an aid for a blind child several years ago.
Communication went much smoother when I made myself
stop using the phrases: "over there", "right here",
and often the words "this" & "that". And began being
more specific saying things such as "the chair is a
foot to your right", "raise your left hand three
inches higher" etc. It was a good mental exercise for
me too. Much more thought was required than just
"expecting or assuming" she would know what I was
talking about.
Enjoy yourselves, it will be a great experience for
both of you.
Regards,
Jeanne W.
--- "L. P. Skeen" wrote:
> Greetings y'all. I have been asked by a local
> parent to teach sculpture to her 12yo daughter who
> has been blind since birth. Boy did I feel stupid
> when they came to visit the studio yesterday; kept
> walking in front of the girl telling her what she
> was about to run into - which most often was ME!
> Anyway, I know NADA about teaching blind people
> (duh, kept trying to tell her the clay was
> brown....) so I need any help y'all can offer.
>
> Thanks.
>
> L
>
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
HotJobs - Search Thousands of New Jobs
http://www.hotjobs.com
| |
|
