From elisabethaxel at aol.com Fri Jan 10 15:38:14 2014 From: elisabethaxel at aol.com (Elisabeth Axel) Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2014 10:38:14 -0500 (EST) Subject: [Art_beyond_sight_learning_tools] =?utf-8?q?Yet_another_survey?= =?utf-8?q?=E2=80=A6_and_your_help_in_completing_and_spreading_the_word_is?= =?utf-8?q?_yet_again_appreciated=2E?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8D0DC311BE4A1FF-16D8-44CF5@webmail-m241.sysops.aol.com> Happy New Year! Could you help us to spread the word? We have a Facebook event for the surveys and the details are also below; (https://www.facebook.com/events/642303872497214/?previousaction=join&source=1) Our research project in brief, below; How are cultural institutions all over the world using mobile technology and apps to make themselves more accessible to people with disabilities? How do users of assistive technology want to see it employed at the museums and recreational locations they visit? What knowledge do access organizations bring about what's working and where there are opportunities? Together Art Beyond Sight and Antenna International have created a series of online surveys to help answer these questions. Results of the surveys will be shared through papers and conferences in the upcoming year. We invite you to complete one (or more, if applicable) of the three surveys below, all of which are brief and relate to the use of mobile technology (smartphones, tablets, apps) in everyday life, in cultural institutions, and for accessibility purposes. You do not have to be well-versed in the technology itself to answer the questions. Which survey is right for you? Follow the links below: IF YOU WORK IN A CULTURAL INSTITUTION OR MUSEUM: http://svy.mk/JQfL9s IF YOU WORK IN AN ACCESS ORGANIZATION OR OTHER INSTITUTION THAT PROVIDES SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: http://svy.mk/JQg6J7 IF YOU ARE AN INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY (WHETHER OR NOT YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A TECHNOLOGY USER!): http://svy.mk/1bWszk1 We look forward to receiving as broad a response as possible, so please share these links with your friends and colleagues. Deadline for survey completion is January 31st! From fnugg at online.no Mon Jan 13 07:48:46 2014 From: fnugg at online.no (fnugg at online.no) Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2014 08:48:46 +0100 Subject: [Art_beyond_sight_learning_tools] Dale Chihuly, Audio Described, Today Message-ID: <52D39A5E.6040206@online.no> Florida museums boast bright and bold artwork Blind in one eye and no longer able to blow glass himself, Dale Chihuly now works with teams of artists ? as many as 80 at a time ? to produce his creations. A film traces the development of his innovative work, including his creations at the Key Botanical Gardens in London. http://www.columbiatribune.com/arts_life/pulse/florida-museums-boast-bright-and-bold-artwork/article_875e3226-7b25-11e3-b88a-10604b9f1ff4.html ART Presents Jan 2014 ASL, Audio Described Performances of THE HEART OF ROBIN HOOD American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) has scheduled American Sign Language (ASL) interpreted performances and Audio Described performances for blind and low-visioned audience for its production of The Heart of Robin Hood during its run in January 2014. http://www.broadwayworld.com/boston/article/ART-Announces-Jan-2014-ASL-Audio-Described-Performances-of-THE-HEART-OF-ROBIN-HOOD-20140106 Smith: Local blind artist on 'Today's'show At last, NBC's ?Today? show has aired the piece shot last October that has Ken Rossi, blind artist and force of nature, demonstrating his art-making to kids at the Sonoma County Museum. Repeatedly pushed off the broadcast schedule by world events, the segment on the 49-year-old Rossi and the intrigued students from Windsor's Brooks School is well worth the wait. http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20140106/articles/140109776 From fnugg at online.no Fri Jan 17 14:32:20 2014 From: fnugg at online.no (fnugg at online.no) Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 15:32:20 +0100 Subject: [Art_beyond_sight_learning_tools] =?utf-8?q?John_Hull_=27Notes_on?= =?utf-8?q?_Blindness=E2=80=99=2C_104_films?= Message-ID: <52D93EF4.6020000@online.no> Hi, In the New York Times there is an article about John Hull author of Touching the Rock and a film made about his audio diary. Regards. Lisa excerpt "In 1983, after years of deteriorating vision, the writer and theologian John Hull lost the last traces of light sensation. For the next three years, he kept a diary on audio-cassette of his interior world of blindness. This film is a dramatization that uses his original recordings. ..." The Story Behind ?Notes on Blindness? From the Directors In May 2011, we received a parcel containing a dusty box of eight C90 cassettes. Amid the analog crackle of the first tape, we heard a now-familiar voice: ?Cassette one. Side one. Notes on Blindness.? It was the first time the recording had been played for almost 25 years.We had met John and Marilyn Hull six months earlier while filming a short documentary about the blind experience of snowfall." Peter Middleton and James Spinney are London-based filmmakers. Their Op-Doc "Notes on Blindness" is an official selection of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. They are currently developing a feature-length version of the film. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/01/16/opinion/16OpDoc-NotesOnBlindness.html?action=click&contentCollection=Asia%20Pacific&module=MostEmailed&version=Full®ion=Marginalia&src=me&pgtype=article Film website ?Cognition is beautiful? In the summer of 1983, just days before the birth of his first son, writer and theologian John Hull went blind. In order to make sense of the upheaval in his life, he began keeping a diary on audiocassette. They were published in 1991 to critical acclaim. The neurologist Oliver Sacks describes the work as ?the most extraordinary, precise, deep and beautiful account of blindness I have ever read. It is to my mind a masterpiece.? With exclusive access to these original recordings, *NOTES ON BLINDNESS* encompases dreams, memory and imaginative life, excavating the interior world of blindness. PREMIERING AT SUNDANCE 2014 http://www.notesonblindness.co.uk/ The Diaries. Into Darkness follows the story of writer and theologian John Hull after he lost his sight in the early 1980s. For three years he kept a diary on audiocassette ? over sixteen hours in total ? deconstructing his experience of blindness in relation to his family, identity and his faith. Into Darkness is the very first time these original recordings have been heard in public. The film takes its structure from the diaries, brought to life by striking cinematography, verbatim reconstructions and creative use of archive footage. http://intodarkness.co.uk/ 104 films website *104 films *make British feature films for a global audience. We are the world leaders in disability and disadvantaged cinema and it is our mission statement to create a tectonic shift in the representation of disabled people both in front of and behind the camera. Our funders include British Film Institute, Creative Skillset and Creative England. http://www.104films.com/ From Lisa.Yayla at statped.no Wed Jan 22 13:55:30 2014 From: Lisa.Yayla at statped.no (Lisa Yayla) Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2014 14:55:30 +0100 Subject: [Art_beyond_sight_learning_tools] Accessible Image Sample Book Webinar and Refresher Course on Nemeth and Tactile Graphics Offered Online Message-ID: Accessible Image Sample Book Webinar Description: Registration is open for the free webinar: Accessible Image Sample Book with Elaine Ober (Pearson) and Lucia Hasty (Rocky Mountain Braille Associates). They will demonstrate this free online resource that shows you what some of the many options are for creating accessible versions of digital images such as maps, bar charts, diagrams, mathematical expressions, photographs, and more. Each of the seven chapters in the book shows a different complex image in context of the book it came from, along with helpful tips and the code used to provide the accessible image in a digital book. See (and hear!) the different ways that an image can be made accessible, including: short and long descriptions, tactile graphics, MathML, sonification, audio description, and 3D printing. This webinar is free and open to all. Date: Thursday, February 6, 2014 Time: 11:00 a.m Pacific (12:00 p.m. Mountain, 1:00 p.m. Central, 2:00 p.m. Eastern) To register, visit: https://cc.readytalk.com/r/x35j0nb91h3t&eom Event Date: Feb 06, 2014 http://www.pathstoliteracy.org/accessible-image-sample-book-webinar Refresher Course on Nemeth and Tactile Graphics Offered Online Description: Are you looking for a way to refresh your skills with Nemeth and Tactile Graphics? Learn more here. Event Date: Mar 01, 2014 to Apr 15, 2014 http://www.pathstoliteracy.org/refresher-course-nemeth-and-tactile-graphics-offered-online -Scanned by Exchange Hosted Services- From fnugg at online.no Mon Jan 27 09:30:19 2014 From: fnugg at online.no (fnugg at online.no) Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 10:30:19 +0100 Subject: [Art_beyond_sight_learning_tools] Chris Downey: Design with the blind in mind, Tai Chi Message-ID: <52E6272B.60807@online.no> Insights from a Blind Architect This week's digest of TED Talks caught my eye. The description of the first video was intriguing: a formerly sighted architect who quickly became blind , and his subsequent experiences navigating cities such as San Francisco and Oakland. This is the tale of architect Chris Downey, who advocates designing cities "with the blind in mind", not only because that's good to do, but because the resulting product benefits the sighted as well. http://www.almanacnews.com/blogs/p/2013/11/18/insights-from-a-blind-architect Chris Downey: Design with the blind in mind http://www.ted.com/talks/chris_downey_design_with_the_blind_in_mind.html Chris Downey website http://www.arch4blind.com/ On Bill Fontana's "Sonic Shadows" Stepping through the lobby and into the atrium of SFMOMA, you may be greeted by strange sounds of dripping water, metallic pings, or intermittent clicks. Just as you think you might recognize the sound, it vanishes. Sometimes it seems to travel right past you, while other sounds seem to swerve somewhere near you. It's hard to tell, though, as there's no evidence of anything around that could be making the noise --- or so I'm told. I cannot see and came to visit the museum with a number of friends, most of them also blind or visually impaired. We came to experience /Sonic Shadows/ , the temporary site-specific sound installation by San Francisco's own Bill Fontana . We didn't know it at the time, but it was Bill's work that greeted us as we stepped toward the atrium. http://openspace.sfmoma.org/2011/07/fontana-downey/ Acoustic wayfinding http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_wayfinding Blind veteran becomes renowned sculptor KRQE ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - One New Mexico war vet lost his sight and one of his hands in Vietnam, but never lost his dream of being an artist.Michael Naranjo went from soldier to sculptor - and has made quite a name for himself.Everything he does as an artist relies on his memory and touch. He creates his art with three fingers on his left hand.The New Mexico native - raised in the Santa Clara Pueblo - grew up wanting to be an artist.His storied career began when he was blinded by a grenade attack in Vietnam."This hand grenade rolled right at my hand. I turned to look at it to push it away but I nev... http://www.albuquerqueexpress.com/index.php/sid/218338544/scat/d867a54a6fc00b3b Royal Blind School sounds recorded ahead of move *unique sounds from inside the historic Royal Blind School will last forever after being recorded as part of a new art project.* Footsteps, voices and noises heard throughout the Craigmillar Park campus have been put on CD by students ahead of the building's closure next summer. http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/education/royal-blind-school-sounds-recorded-ahead-of-move-1-3180439 The iconic campus where visually impaired children have been taught for almost 180 years is being sold -- with pupils and teachers moving to the school's Canaan Lane centre in Morningside. Now, four third-year students from Edinburgh College of Art have created a lasting memory of the old school. Blind faith Legally blind art teacher overcomes the odds John Sandy walks between the tables of his classroom, talking to the children about technique and the art of blending colors. As he moves between the stations he speaks gently to the children and helps guide them through the process. He pauses at one table and picks up a student's work, holding it only inches from his face as he examines it closely. Sandy is legally blind. Sandy, 59, is a Kanawha County elementary art teacher, http://www.wvgazette.com/Life/Peoplelife/201310040159 *The inner eye* Wan Zhouying, a famous Tai Chi master, started to teach blind people shadowboxing in 2009. As a 12th-generation practitioner of Chen Style Tai Chi Chuan, Wan began learning Tai Chi in his childhood. Inspired by a friend, Wan established a training center to teach visually impaired people to practice Tai Chi in the hope of easing their solitude. The difficulties for blind students in learning Tai Chi were unexpected. To teach every move, Wan has to strike a firm position for the students to touch him and feel the positions of his body, including the shoulder, the wrist and the ankle. It is followed by another round of training where Wan corrects their movements one by one. Despite these difficulties, Wan believes that blind people are naturally suited to learn Tai Chi and they better comprehend the subtlety of this physical art that demands internal exploration from the practitioner. http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/815968.shtml#.UuYhMbDKyRs George Mendoza: Colors of the Wind Textile designs and paintings by author, athlete and artist George Mendoza http://www.irvingartscenter.com/Performances/EventsCalendar/EventDetail.aspx?id=504 Legacy funds craft centre for blind veterans The first year's proceeds of a ?1m legacy left to Lloyd's Patriotic Fund by late Lloyd's legend Charles Skey, has funded a new art and craft centre for Blind Veterans UK. http://www.lloyds.com/news-and-insight/news-and-features/community/2013/charles-skey-legacy Award Winning Visually Impaired Artist Self proclaims "Inspirational Blind Artist", Michael A. Williams (born March 1964) is the son of artist Mattie L. Williams and the oldest of 10 children. Mr. Williams as a teenager he was diagnosed with Stargardt's disease (also known as fundus flavimaculatus) is a type of macular degeneration that typically surfaces before the age of 20. Has been sight impaired since birth and started drawing and painting at the age of 10. http://www.semissourian.com/story/2020536.html Michael Williams Award Winning Visually Impaired Artist http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2013/nov/07/michael-williams-award-winning-visually-impaired-a/?partner=RSS Presidential Proclamation -- Blind Americans Equality Day, 2013 A PROCLAMATION Blind and visually impaired persons have always played an important role in American life and culture, and today we recommit to our goals of full access and opportunity. Whether sprinting across finish lines, leading innovation in business and government, or creating powerful music and art, blind and visually impaired Americans imagine and pursue ideas and goals that move our country forward. As a Nation, it is our task to ensure they can always access the tools and support they need to turn those ideas and goals into realities. http://www.newsroomamerica.com/story/390229.html Interactivity hits the arts festival circuit Perth Festival directorJonathan Holloway kept hearing about a theatre piece out of Israel starring 12 people who are either deaf or blind or both, many profoundly. He missed it when it was on in London and again in New York, so eventually went to Israel to see it in Jaffa, home to the Nalaga'at Deaf-Blind Theatre. The performers start off kneading bread dough, which they then put into ovens on stage. As the bread bakes, the actors tell their stories: about boyfriends, girlfriends, disappointments, successes. Life. http://www.afr.com/p/lifestyle/life_leisure/interactivity_hits_the_arts_festival_1NgzWbKf6oHP2XC8vo6gmM http://fox8.com/2013/07/25/legally-blind-man-named-pixel-painter/ From fnugg at online.no Mon Jan 27 14:06:43 2014 From: fnugg at online.no (fnugg at online.no) Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 15:06:43 +0100 Subject: [Art_beyond_sight_learning_tools] 3D Printing Stars: Astronomers Create Tactile Hubb, Penn Museum Message-ID: <52E667F3.5090806@online.no> Ontario artist uses toothpicks to paint detailed portraits An Ontario artist captures portraits in great detail with toothpicks and paint despite his near blindness. Michael Rilstone, of Grimsby, Ont., went legally blind at the age of 59, losing sight in one of his eyes within less than 24 hours. "My retina fell right off and after seven operations they finally got it to stay, but now I'm just left with just shadowy sight, which is actually a problem because I see double," Rilstone said. He became increasingly frustrated with smudging his work with conventional paint brushes and so began painting with a powerful magnifying glass and toothpicks. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-artist-uses-toothpicks-to-paint-detailed-portraits-1.2505800?cmp=rss A Different Perception: Artist Continues Despite Growing Blindness Standing at the top of the steps leading to his studio in Wassaic, N.Y., Joel Foster cuts an impressive figure. In wrinkled khaki cargo shorts, beige V-neck sweater, tan sneakers, baseball cap covering his shaggy gray hair and anchored down with a pair of cool shades, he is the epitome of the working artist. As he shakes my hand and looks straight at me, smiling, it is difficult to accept the fact that he is blind. http://www.countytimes.com/articles/2014/01/20/passport/doc52983a2e41a4b020995935.txt?viewmode=fullstory Artist Samuel Walrond dies at 95 http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Artist-Samuel-Walrond-dies-at-95-240940721.html Arts center program helps those with impaired vision create http://triblive.com/aande/moreaande/5340854-74/art-arts-vision#axzz2razRfHz8 3D Printing Stars: Astronomers Create Tactile Hubble Images To Help The Blind Experience Celestial Wonders http://www.idigitaltimes.com/articles/21528/20140116/3d-printing-stars-space-images-technology-blind.htm Blind student wins Mars contest It was literally a touching win Friday at the 25th annual Mars Geography Bee. The winner was sixth-grader Max Lamm, whose guide dog, Seal, accompanied him to the gymnasium to compete in the event. Max has been blind since receiving treatment for stage 5 cancer in both eyes at 9 months old. His proud parents, Eric and Lisa Lamm of Adams Township, explained that Max prepared for the competition at Mars Middle School by studying in Braille on a tactile map provided by the school district. He also read several books on geography. - http://www.thecranberryeagle.com/article/20140115/CRAN0101/701159823/-1/CRAN01 Lexington One teacher co-authors award-winning book for visually impaired students As visually-impaired students begin learning to read by way of Braille, many also are learning how to navigate their world with help from a white cane. A Lexington One teacher helped create a brand-new resource to take away some of the apprehension by introducing the cane in a fun way. Kara Miller, instructor of students with visual impairments in the district since 2012, worked with Laura Palko Chartier of the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind to handcraft a one-of-a-kind children's book. http://coladaily.com/2014/01/13/lexington-one-teacher-co-authors-award-winning-book-for-visually-impaired-students/ 3D space images aid blind Among the latest uses for 3D printers are tactile 3D pictures to help blind people get a better understanding of spectacular images being transmitted from the Hubble Space Telescope. Scientists at Hubble's operations center said last week they're using a 3D printer to create representations of stars and star systems for visually impaired people. The images have been transformed into textures appearing as raised open circles, lines and dots of varying heights in the 3D printout. The institute plans to eventually make the 3D images available for schools and libraries. http://news.investors.com/011014-686056-3d-space-images-aid-blind.htm Hubble images become tactile 3-D experience for the blind http://phys.org/news/2014-01-hubble-images-tactile-d.html 638 -- The Nose Knows: An Olfactory Map of Newport, RI http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/638-nil-the-nose-knows-an-olfactory-map-of-newport-ri Photo Release -- 3D Systems Defines 'Perceptual Design' With Touch(TM), First Ever Consumer Haptic 3D Mouse, Priced At $499 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) announced today the debut of the first-ever haptic-based, consumer 3D mouse for intuitive 3D sculpting and design, the Touch^(TM), with instant force feedback that mimics the sense of physical sculpting. The Touch works with 3DS' Cubify^? Sculpt^(TM), a powerful virtual sculpting tool that transforms 3D modeling from a complex, skills-centric design experience to a simple, easy sculpting delight for students, designers and hobbyists. http://www.consumerelectronicsnet.com/article/Photo-Release----3D-Systems-Defines-Perceptual-Design-With-Touch(TM)-First-Ever-Consumer-Haptic-3D-Mouse-Priced-At-499-2996958 Teenager Liam's book boost for blind charity "Wildlife is particularly interesting, because I may not have seen a badger or a seagull and might have no idea what to imagine. "So these packs are a terrific help." http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/10911422.Teenager_Liam___s_book_boost_for_blind_charity/ Artist Paints His Vision Seven Years After Going Completely Blind http://www.parentherald.com/articles/3484/20140101/artist-paints-vision-seven-years-going-completely-blind.htm Hands provide vision for blind clay artist "I've lost my color vision and a lot of detail," said the 59-year-old native New Englander, trying to describe to a visitor the formless gray, black and white images her eyes faintly make out. Instead, she sees with her hands. "For me," she said, "my sense of touch is my vision." http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/24414564-418/hands-provide-vision-for-blind-clay-artist.html Israeli artist uses Braille in art to aid visually impaired When Turkish blind painter Esref Armagan first started to paint, absence of visual acuity was never a hindrance. There were times when he painted the sea and thought he'd need a life-jacket to save him from drowning. Cut to contemporary Israeli artist Roy Nachum, who believes vision is only one such barrier which obstructs the perception of art. In his most recent art works, Roy Nachum based in New York, has incorporated Braille into paintings to expand on the possibility of making art accessible to the visually impaired. http://freepressjournal.in/israeli-artist-uses-braille-in-art-to-aid-visually-impaired/ Partially blind artist displays artwork of flowers Maggie Love is living proof that age is but a number. Love, who suffers from partial blindness as a result of macular degeneration, will display 15 paintings at University Mall as part of its Artist of the Month program. http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2013/12/maggie-love-1202 Artist incorporates Braille into paintings so visually impaired can experience artwork Roy Nachum, 34, sculpts poems in Braille as backgrounds for his oil paintings as a way for the visually impaired to appreciate his work. His art --- which will be featured at the POSH Arts & Interiors auction Monday --- also experiments with color-blindness tests and reflective props, urging viewers with sight to confront their own limitations. http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/artist-incorporates-braille-poems-paintings-article-1.1527065 Philadelphia museum tells blind visitors: Please touch! Angel Ayala has never been a big fan of museums. Blind since birth, the high school student says the exhibits are so sight-dependent that he can't enjoy them. But he's making an exception for the Penn Museum, an archaeology and anthropology center that offers touch tours for the blind and visually impaired. Ayala can now feel the eroded limestone of an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus and the intricate hieroglyphs on the statue of a pharaoh. "When I touch things, it's my version of a sighted person's eyes. It tells me way more than a person describing it would ever," Ayala said. The institution, which is part of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, began offering the tours last year in an effort to make its extensive collections more accessible. Museums should serve the community at large, and that includes the unsighted as well as the sighted, said program co-ordinator Trish Maunder. same text- different photos http://www.southbendtribune.com/life/travel/article_b837d722-6580-11e3-8c09-001a4bcf6878.html http://www.dailylocal.com/lifestyle/20131227/pa-museum-tells-blind-visitors-please-touch http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2013/12/travel_pennsylvania_museum_tel.html http://www.redding.com/news/2013/dec/12/philadelphia-museum-tells-blind-visitors-please-to/ http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/living/lifestyles/1023432-469/museum-tells-visitors-please-touch.html# Elliott and Trent Phillips were making Christmas cards Saturday, but they weren't drawing, as they do at home. "I just wrote my name in Braille," Elliot said as he glued a pipe cleaner onto a Christmas tree cut from what resembled sparkling sandpaper. The Phillips twins were among a group of children gathered at the American Printing House for the Blind for the annual Holiday Card Factory, which brings the blind and those with sight together to make greetings that appeal to the sense of touch, rather than sight From MeliskaE at si.edu Mon Mar 24 16:09:00 2014 From: MeliskaE at si.edu (Meliska, Elin) Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 16:09:00 +0000 Subject: [Art_beyond_sight_learning_tools] Touch Tour Development Message-ID: <3AB7121556B5B541A7FAA2DE55F5EA16D7BD2F@SI-MSEDAG03.US.SINET.SI.EDU> Hello, My name is Elin Meliska and I am developing a self-guided touch tour for blind and low vision visitors at the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum. I'm totally new at this and was hoping some seasoned pros could offer some help. *Does anyone have experience writing visual descriptions of objects? If I have no experience doing this, is it better to utilize a professional or try myself guided by online resources? *Has anyone heard of other successful self-guided touch tours? *What is the best platform to deliver this content? I am debating between an iBook and booklet. Thank you so much for your help. Any and all advice is much appreciated! Elin