[Artists-making-art] Introducing Yama Ploskonka

[Yama Paper]

Because introductions of new members of a list are a Good Thing, here goes

Yama Ploskonka, known in the 'net as yamaplos, an Austinite-born-elsewhere
since 2002, a paper maker since 2016, now fixin' to open *Touch This Art!*
in Austin on September 21, 2018 (a separate email with that, coming soon)
website: bit.ly/touchthisart

My first patent was supposed to be about a haptic output peripheral, that I
dropped, on the wise advice of a blind PhD at Brigham Young University
whose name I am sorry I forgot, that I was visiting the week prior to 9/11.
He was right, the way I had designed the thing was not just derivative of
devices I had no idea of, it would also overheat and be quite useless. Many
years later I submitted a somewhat similar idea as a 3D printer, then
abandoned the patent. Have fun:
https://patents.google.com/patent/US20140120195A1/en

So, years later, after a fair where some blind people touched some of my
high-relief paper art and "got it" (I am a paper maker, not a paper artist,
but then, paper art sells better than quality classic handmade archival
paper for artists, so, what can I do?), I applied for a City of Austin
grant in record time, got it, and now I am writing emails 15 days before
opening day, yikes. :-)

So I built a CNC carving machine, the YamaCarver
https://youtu.be/3_95Vq5KvDE , and finally today achieved full success in
making it punch Braille. Slow, 6 minutes for a page, but it does it.
Besides, more importantly, being the thing to carve my art...

So here I am. Doing some "due diligence" right after I submitted my grant
application, I saw the FABULOUS stuff from AEB, but it seemed to stop in
2014. Two other publishers of art for the blind art-books seemed to also
vanish thereabouts. Between one thing and another, until I found this list
(and others of the NFB), I was feeling very, very, very alone...

I am so glad that is not the case.

Let me write a little blurb about the exhibit in another email, but first
indicate that 1) I know I am quite ignorant of BVI issues and art for the
blind and etc. 2) still, I want to do something 3) ergo, I need help,
advice, and (hopefully gentle) criticism... So do feel free to deliver all
of the above and then some. Oh, and I looooove to share. Someday I should
put together the design for my $500 CNC + Braille puncher + embossing
plates maker, etc.


Yama
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