[Nfb-krafters-korner] Braille Drawing cont'd...

Tue Sep 7 14:26:54 UTC 2010

Shairing with my chapter leader.  She teaches braille outside of her job with NLS.

Terry P.

-----Original Message-----
From: Nancy Yeager [mailto:nancyyeager542 at verizon.net] 
Sent: Friday, September 03, 2010 8:39 PM
To: 'List for blind crafters and artists'
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Braille Drawing cont'd...

Thanks, Jewel.

I am very interested in drawing as a blind person but have never heard of this book.  Will have to read it.

Nancy Yeager  

-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jewel S.
Sent: Friday, September 03, 2010 8:33 PM
To: nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Braille Drawing cont'd...

I know most of you have gone on from talking about Braille drawing, but it is actually one of my favourite crafts, so I can't resist continuing the talk about it with a book I found on Bookshare.org today.

Braillables: A Manual for Parents and Teachers - Techniques for Teaching Drawing with Braille by Marie Porter

>From the book: Braillables are pictures that are brailled by people
who are able to braille them. They are outlines, sketches, sculptures, drawings, artwork. They are a creative expression that uses a necessary skill of blind people. They are fun to do, easily shared by sighted people, and they give an added dimension of freedom in using what can be a very rigid mode of communication. Blind people can draw in a medium over which they have complete control. Drawing with braille builds skill in reading, in interpreting charts, maps, diagrams, math and science figures. For those who pursue it, drawing with braille encourages imagination, creativity, a feeling for abstraction, perspective and proportion--all elements necessary for good concepts of objects, spatial relationships, and, ultimately, skill in orientation and mobility. Braille has an aura of mystery about it which isolates the reader. It can be austere, unpenetrable, a symbol of struggle and pain both for the blind person and for the family and friends. There is a coming together, a sharing, a breaking down of barriers when two heads bend over a picture of a dog and both the blind person and the sighted person see it as a dog. That is the fun of it.

I started reading the book today, and have already drawn an apple, a boat and a bus, and a very cute pot-bellied pig. Oh, and a Christmas tree, of course.

The great thing about this book is that it not only gives directions for increasingly more complex drawings, but it teaches the concepts behind creating the drawings. For example, the first drawing is an apple. The main concept is learning to make a rounded shape. With this concept, you could then go on to create a baseball, a balloon, the Olympic rings, and much more! The next picture is a boat, and it teaches about proportion and placement, as it shows you how to add water under the boat. The bus teaches further proportion and realism, as well as more basic things like how to draw tires (they're easy!).
With this knowledge base, you could go on to make your own car, truck, ship, or maybe even a plane! Since it's intended for children, the concepts are simple and perfect for beginning artists.

I hope you will check this book out. It is wonderful, and the scan quality is perfect as far as I can tell.

--
~Jewel
Check out my blog about accessibility for the blind!
Treasure Chest for the Blind: http://blindtreasurechest.blogspot.com

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ager542%40verizon.net

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