[Artbeyondsightmuseums] art and health, 3D braille maps,

[fnugg at online.no]

Reader responds: 'Art does matter every day' 
<http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2012/05/02/reader-responds-art-does-matter-every-day/>
/I wish more people could see the ripple effect that art plays in our 
society./
/As an artist, I have worked with Alzheimer patients, the blind, 
developmentally delayed and physically affected adults, not to mention 
the many children I have taught./
/I have personally witnessed the transformation in the mindset of some 
who have life's most challenging moments thrust upon them. I believe 
that the process of creating something with one's own mind and hands is 
indispensable to a healthy state. Art heals./

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/05/how-the-blind-are-reinventing-the-iphone/256589/

Smart glasses producing 3D braille maps could help blind people navigate 
the world
Glasses with cameras and other sensors more commonly found in robots 
could soon be used to help the blind navigate, using a tactile display 
to create a three-dimensional braille map of the person's surroundings. 
It's the idea of Professor Edwige Pissaloux, a researcher at Institut 
des Systèmes Intelligents et de Robotique (ISIR) in Paris, which is also 
home to one of the teams contributing to the child-like robot iCub 
<http://www.theverge.com/2011/10/9/2479606/creepy-open-source-icub-robot-shows-off-its-toddler-like-abilities>.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/2/2993311/blind-navigation-glasses-braille-ISIR-pissaloux

http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2012/05/new_glasses_could_help_blind_people_see_again_kind_of.html
http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2012/05/02/104-Robotic-vision-may-phase-out-walking-stick-to-help-blind-navigate.html

PLAINSBORO: Art to be part of healing process at hospital

While the shelves will be fully stocked with bandages, gauze and tape to 
heal wounds as patients come for treatments at the new University 
Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro, all will be exposed to one 
universal therapy --- artwork.

Installing artwork in hospitals is a growing trend across the United 
States, as a growing body of research shows art has healing powers.



"Our job is to improve the patients experience here or anything that 
improves their clinical outcome is our job to provide," said Barry 
Rabner, CEO of Princeton HealthCare System. "It's not just X-rays and 
MRIs, it's also art."

....

"We have some watercolors that were done by a quadriplegic man who holds 
the brush in his teeth and we have two sculptures that were done by a 
Princeton man (Gordon Gund) who also happens to be blind," said Mr. 
Rabner. "There's one he describes to be a salmon, it's curved and the 
head and tail are near are each other, and I asked Mr. Gund how he did 
that, and he said he went to the fish market and bought a salmon and 
felt it and manipulated it and bent it to understand how it should look 
and what the natural curve is to it. It's remarkable."



A renowned sculptor and Princetonian, Mr. Gund -- the former majority 
owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA team -- lost his sight more than 40 
years ago from retinitis pigmentosa.



"I am very excited that the University Medical Center of Princeton at 
Plainsboro owns two of my sculptures and will have them on display there 
for years to come," said Mr. Gund, whose bronze sculptures will be 
located in the meditation garden and the Cancer Treatment Center's 
reflection pool. "I hope that viewing them and touching them will 
provide a calming, pleasing diversion to patients, their families and 
other visitors.
"While I've sold some of my sculptures, I'm a long way from being a 
professional artist. First and foremost, I do it because I really enjoy 
it. It is real therapy for me to take images from my mind and turn them 
into something tangible with my hands. It is then especially satisfying 
if they are pleasing to others to touch and to see," said Mr. Gund. "Art 
is very healing to me both in enjoying the work of others and in 
creating it myself.
http://www.centraljersey.com/articles/2012/04/30/the_princeton_packet/news/doc4f9f06f48defa188815906.txt


excerpt-

Students from Overbrook School for the Blind participate in an Art-Reach 
clay workshop. Kayte Connelly, owner of Best Principled Solutions, 
serves on the Art-Reach board.
http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/print-edition/2012/04/27/volunteer-donors-of-the-year.html?page=3

Ardent art show 
<http://mankatofreepress.com/features/x130096887/Ardent-art-show>
Bob Vogel didn't win any cash for his stained glass submission "Summer 
in Colorado." But the image depicting a woman of satin countenance 
looking over her shoulder was selected for the final exhibit.
The color-blind artist whose wife had to choose the richly colored glass 
for him said the public exposure is just as well. The artisan owns 
Stained Glass Studio in St. Peter and said he decided to participate in 
the exhibit for the first time to seek new audiences for his work.
"I'm trying to market myself a little more," he said.
http://mankatofreepress.com/features/x130096887/Ardent-art-show

article excerpt
Blind potter passes on legacy to son




VADODARA: Being blind is not a handicap for 60-year-old Kanti Prajapati 
when it comes to making artistic pottery items. Prajapati does this with 
his deft hands and has even trained his son in doing so.

Prajapai had become famous after it came to light that he worked like 
any other potter despite being blind. Bollywood actor Farooq Sheikh, 
too, was impressed by his skills and gave him Rs 1 lakh about 10 yeas 
ago. Like many other potters, Prajapati stays in Kumbharwada locality in 
Fatehgunj.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-25/vadodara/31398219_1_pottery-dilip-wholesale-traders