[Art_beyond_sight_educators] artists, de Kooning

[Lisa Yayla]

Blind Jersey City artist learned to paint again; teaches others at St. 
Joseph School for the Blind


When Jersey City artist Bojana Coklyat lost her sight four years ago, 
she thought she would never paint again.

"I couldn't paint the way I had before," said the School of the Art 
Institute of Chicago graduate. "I wasn't able to get the detail I wanted 
and I was just so disappointed in what I had been creating."

Coklyat became legally blind when type 1 diabetes caused blood vessels 
in her eyes to burst and her vision to deteriorate. Coklyat, who was 
diagnosed at 10, said having to undergo dialysis and take insulin 
because of her disease was nothing compared to possibly losing her 
ability to do what she loves most.
.... Today, Coklyat inspires other visually impaired people at the St. 
Joseph's School for the Blind in Jersey City where she teaches an art 
class to students ages 3 to 21.

"They amaze me every day with their enthusiasm and willingness to try 
something new," said Coklyat, who said the students often work with 
clay, paint, finger paint and other tactile materials.

http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index.ssf/2012/02/blind_jersey_city_artist_learn.html

article

Flying Blind: de Kooning's "Closed-Eye" Drawings

There are 24 charcoal drawings now on display at the Museum of Modern 
Art that Willem de Kooning did with his eyes closed.

This was not an uncommon thing for de Kooning, who often liked to close 
his eyes, or avert his eyes, or use them to watch TV while he drew. This 
may sound like a gimmick, or some kind of dada or surrealist gambit, or 
an act of desperation from an artist running on fumes.

But it was none of these. In a fascinating, in-depth study called "'With 
Closed Eyes': De Kooning's Twist" (published in Master Drawings, vol. 
40, no. 1, Spring 2002), the art historian Richard Shiff argues that de 
Kooning's closed-eye technique:


... allow[ed] de Kooning to circumvent what was for him the more 
intellectual and regulative organ, the eye, lest it inhibit the more 
physical organ, the hand.
http://hyperallergic.com/55657/flying-blind-de-koonings-closed-eye-drawings/

http://blogs.soartists.com/ArtMatters/2012/08/18/de-kooning-flying-blind/
blog

Rachel Dora Ann


There is so much more to the world then mere eyes can see. I paint it 
and share my experiences of losing sight and living happy
http://racheldoraannart.blogspot.no/2012/08/blind-meets-mountain.html



question

Colour identifier tools for colour-blind artist?
http://forum.deviantart.com/art/general/1773163/


youtube

University of North Texas (UNT) student John Bramblitt paints beautiful 
works of art in vivid colors, despite the fact that he's been blind for 
years. www.bramblitt.net

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P84bfFpVWE&list=PL39E0ECBCB01A5916&index=5&feature=plpp_video