[Artists-making-art] (no subject)

Lynda Lambert llambert at zoominternet.net
Thu Mar 6 23:14:24 UTC 2014 

Hi Ann,
I wish you could be here, too. Wouldn't that be fun!!! I have been at the gallery the past two days installing my work. My partner does paintings and she put her paintings up on Tuesday - but my work is far more complicated to install so I am glad it is finished as of late this afternoon.  My granddaughter came to help today, too. She has been involved with art exhibitions since she was a little girl, so she is an amazing helper - she is 34 years old now.  She even took home my packages of cheese to cut up for the reception - and all I have left to do is make a nice salsa and cheese dip. We delivered everything else today, and the wine, so now we just have to deliver ourselves for the party.

Yesterday, a reporter photographer came to do a photo shoot of the installation and some portraits of us with our work, too. I am not sure when that will come out, but maybe tomorrow or Saturday. I don't know for sure. He was actually there for a few hours, so it should be really good - we are thankful for that.  This will be the second newspaper who has covered this event. And, I am certain we will get a lot more coverage when it moves to the next venue because a reporter has been keeping track of the progress of the show since last fall. That will be three papers for sure.

On Tuesday I did two presentations on sight loss and next steps to recovery and rehab - at a university. A photographer came there and did an entire photo shoot of me with my work, and speaking, and a student videoed my presentation for one of her classes.  What fun it all was - I am a retired professor, so I am in heaven when I am at a university conference and with other profs and students. 

I am taking your Black Board to the opening tomorrow night - each of us will be doing a very short gallery walk with the art - and I intend to show the audience your board and speak about how a blind person can draw with it - and some other things that I use for my own art making, too.  It is a good opportunity - also, I put a link to you on the handout I made for both events so maybe you may hear from someone who has taken the handout. That would be nice.

Lynda
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Ann at acunningham.com 
  To: An exploration of art by and for blind persons 
  Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2014 11:55 AM
  Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] (no subject)


  Hi Lynda,
      You guys are getting some great coverage for your event. All my best wishes are with you tomorrow at your opening event. I hope you have a wonderful time and that the weather plays nice so that lots of people are there. I can't wait to hear how it goes, I wish I could be there. All the best, Ann


  Ann Cunningham
  Tactile Art - a creative way to see the world!
  303 238 4760
  ann at acunningham.com
  http://www.acunningham.com
  http://www.sensationalbooks.com 



    -------- Original Message --------
    Subject: [Artists-making-art] (no subject)
    From: "Lynda Lambert" <llambert at zoominternet.net>
    Date: Mon, March 03, 2014 11:10 am
    To: "An exploration of art by and for blind persons"
    <artists-making-art at nfbnet.org>


    This appeared in the Ellwood City Ledger (PA) last week.  The focus is on rehabilitation for blind people.

    Quote:



    Sight fades, but vision remains strong
    By Louise Carroll For The Ledger | Posted: Monday, February 24, 2014 12:15 am
    NEW BRIGHTON — The art show “Vision and Revision,” an exhibit by Suzanne Gibson and Lynda Lambert, opens on March 7 at the Merrick Art Gallery and brings a message of hope. Both artists are legally blind but continue to create.
    When the show opens, the artists will be there to greet visitors and give a short talk.
    A year ago, Lambert, who uses a voice reader to read to her any electronic message, email, newspaper or website, read Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics that said 3.4 million people will have sight loss in 2014.
    “As I read this, it made me think of how, as an artist, I could bring a positive message through my own work,” said Lambert, whose vision is 20/700. “I got the idea to develop a traveling art exhibition that would be on view in six galleries over a two-year period. I called it ‘Vision and Revision,’ because we have lost our sight, but we have not lost our vision. We have just refocused it and continue to create.”
    When Lambert met Gibson, whose vision is 20/200, Lambert helped her get rehabilitation and mobility training, and now together they have created an art exhibition of Gibson’s paintings and Lambert’s mixed-media bead works and pottery to bring hope to vision-impaired people.
    “We want to share our positive story to show that life is not over. Find a way to keep doing what you love to do, just rethink it. Don’t give up and hide,” Gibson said.
    Lambert, of Ellwood City, had been in exhibitions all over the United States, Japan, Austria and New Guinea for nearly 40 years. She was a college professor of fine arts and humanities at Geneva College when she suddenly lost her sight in 2007. She was diagnosed with ischemic optic neuropathy, a strokelike condition.
    “Everything in my life changed when I lost my sight,” Lambert said. “At first I was stunned, but after going away for several months for rehabilitation at the Blind and Vision Rehabilitation Services in Homestead, I learned to do the simplest tasks but in a new way.”
    Lambert learned to use adaptive technologies for the blind. As she learned these skills, she again began to dream of making art. In 2009, when she had been through rehabilitation for the blind, she expanded her talents to make exquisite beaded jewelry pieces. She created encrusted beadwork using Swarovski crystals, natural gemstones, freshwater pearls, fragments of pottery shards, cabochons, other objects.
    “The things I love most are the powerful talismans that I imagine would be worn for spiritual and healing purposes in ancient and medieval times. A talisman is an object that dates back to pre-history — used for healing, safety and protection. They are precious treasures that harks back to the ancient to medieval world that I used to lecture my students on in the humanities courses I taught when I was a professor. They carry the magic that we experience when we look at great works of art from another time,” Lambert said.
    “My goal was high-quality art that could compete in art exhibitions,” Lambert said. “It took me about five years to get back to where I was, but I got there.”
    The Lawrence County Blind Association is making Braille labels for the show.
    Gibson, of New Brighton, is a painter who has owned and operated Rivers Edge Studio and Gallery in New Brighton, for four years. About six years ago, she began losing her sight due to Stargardt’s disease, which has caused her to lose most of her central vision. She was inspired by an exhibit by John Bramblitt, a totally blind artist.
    “I had to find another way to make my art. I thought ‘How do I get you to feel what I want you to feel?’ “ Gibson said. “My work has become much more abstract, and I use color in a much different way to emphasize mood and depth. I feel I’m now doing the best art I’ve ever done; other people say it’s the best work I’ve ever done. It has taught me a lot artistically, because I have to think about the essence of something without the detail. Less is more.”
    Currently, Gibson is developing a series of acrylic paintings on canvas. She is doing commissions for the aviary in Pittsburgh, teaching art classes and managing the Rivers Edge Studio.
    “With the right help, we were able to continue our creative lives,” Lambert said. “With the help I received at BVRS, I learned there wasn’t anything I couldn’t do, other than drive. I could look at anything and figure out the tools and methods to make things work.”



    Lynda
    Lynda McKinney Lambert, MFA
    Artist, Educator, Author
    104 River Road, Ellwood City, PA 16117
    http://www.lyndalambert.com

    "Human beings are creatures who conceal an interior of uncharted chaos which lies beneath the surface reality"James Baldwin, The Creative Life (1962)



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