[Nfb-krafters-korner] Using braille in crafts, was, Re: more picture info

Mon Oct 3 13:14:14 UTC 2011

Cindy;
A friend of mine makes magnets out of almost anything imaginable.  She has asked me to save scraps of plastic camvas for her.  She can use them for the background of a magnet.  Sometimes she paints the camvas.  As long as it can be put to use, that's great.  Dianne used plastic camvas in her pins, I think.  It sure felt like it.
I am a big pramoter for resycling.  I even give her items I start and forget to finish.  She can always take the yarn out and reuse the camvas, a lot faster than I can.

I use braille in my plastic camvas, when I want the blind to be able to read it or for the sighted to see what braille really is.  I use different methods of texturing so the blind can feal the design and the sighted can also enjoy the beauty, tactually and visually.  My first year, I made everything, NFB, related.  Since then, I try to have a few items with the Whozit or items in braille and a lot non NFB related.  That way people can give my items, as gifts, to those outside the NFB family.  I am always thinking of new items to make.  I like to go to craft fairs and flee markets, like the one at my church, this year.
I even barrowed some samples from a friend, that her Grand Mother had made.  You sure can learn a lot by the sence of tutch.

Terry P.

-----Original Message-----
From: River Woman [mailto:riverwoman at zoominternet.net]
Sent: Saturday, October 01, 2011 8:48 AM
To: List for blind crafters and artists
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Using braille in crafts, was, Re: more picture info

Hi cindy,
I think you misunderstood what I was talking about or I did not explain it well.  Talking about this kind of thing in person is good, but typing it in an email leads to confusion and misunderstanding. I was discussing my pottery, three dimensional sculptures.  I was not even thinking not paper/text art works. The irony here is that for years I have used texts in my works on paper! Most is in German, some Italian.

Of course, anything can be used in art in this way. I have created  works for years during my summers in Austria and the German language/texts  is an important aspect of my works.  It is used in fragments, and nothing that can be read entirely. The texts are used as design elements, in layers, just as your student friend used your Braille.

These days, Spanish enters into a lot of my titles of works, and even my latest solo show title was in Spanish (Primal Garden...la vida luminiscentes). This is because many of the works were created from the imagery I have in my mind of Puerto Rico, where I go every spring.

The point here is clearly  that we bring to an art work is WHO WE ARE as a person.  So I bring to all I do, MY SELF. The things that engage my imagination and my memories are what I choose to bring to the world through my work.  To bring Braille into my work would not be a truth for me, as it is not something that has any special meaning for ME. I would be sharing something that is not of interest to me, personally. And, why would I choose to do that? Art is about truth, and that is not my truth.

I have many works that use torn and cut up texts, diary pages, journal drawings, and many other kinds of papers. I was not addressing that at all.
Anything can be used as a design element.  But that "anything" has to be something that rings true to the person creating it.

My pottery is based in ancient to medieval ideas and motifs. It focuses on the CLAY itstef and on process.
To use any kind of text on it would confuse the viewer and would not be true to my intentions for that work.

I was talking about Braille as a means of communication in or on a work of art.  To anyone who cannot read it, it is just a curiosity and very distracting.  It would take the focus of the work to a place that I have no intention of leading the viewer. Art works  tak the viewer on a JOURNEY, and if we are successful in the work, we take the viewer to a destination. I don't want  the  journey of my viewers to be "lost at sea."

I don't know if this is clear or not - or helpful.
There is a very wide divide between crafts and art, and some artists create a bridge between the two. I use craft materials but my work is firmly planted on the Art side of the divide.

Lynda River Woman

----- Original Message -----
From: "slerythema" <slerythema at gmail.com>
To: "'List for blind crafters and artists'" <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, October 01, 2011 2:50 AM
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Using braille in crafts, was,Re: more picture info

> Lynda,
>
> I am not contesting your personal philosophy, however, your statement,
> "the only thing that braille would communicate would be to a person
> who uses it." is not accurate.
>
> In my graduate creative writing class, I used braille for my comments
> that I might make in class for each story and placed the sheet with
> each of the stories. At the end of class, when we handed back the
> stories, I would throw away my braille copies (printed comments were
> given back to the individuals). One of my classmates was also an
> artist, and she took these pages of braille and cut them up and used
> them in her artwork as texture.
> She could not read braille and was not interested in what it might say
> and it was not placed on the artwork in any "readable" manner.
>
> Again, I have no problem with your views on text in your artwork, just
> don't limit yourself that letters have to represent words, be legible,
> or form anything other than a juxtaposition between positive and
> negative space.
>
> Cindy S.
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org
>> [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of River
>> Woman
>> Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2011 8:09 AM
>> To: List for blind crafters and artists
>> Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Using braille in crafts,
>> was,Re: more picture info
>>
>>
>> When I was creating a series of large vessels last year I thought of
>> putting braille words on my pots - but then I decided not to -
>> braille is not at all of interest to me - I use all electronics - it
>> is a personal choice and I decided that putting braille on my pots
>> would be meaningless to me, and our art reflects who we are
>> personally and braille would not reflect me.  I thought about the
>> idea of communication through art, and the only thing that braille
>> would communicate would be to a person who uses it. I also thought
>> about the notion of putting a "sign" of my art - putting any kind of
>> words in any manner on my vessels would make them didactic, and I
>> don't want to limit anyone's imagination through use of any words or
>> signs on anything I do. This is my personal art philosophy - I think
>> about who my audience will be and how I will communicate to them -
>> signs and words are usually really "stop signs" to most people. The
>> exact opposite of what I want my work to do.
>>
>> With everything we do, we need to consider why we do it, who we are
>> doing it for, and what the end goal of it is.
>> And, that is when it becomes art - when it expressed ideas and
>> concepts.
>>
>> Lynda River Woman
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Denise Shaible" <denise.shaible at att.net>
>> To: "List for blind crafters and artists"
>> <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2011 2:10 AM
>> Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Using braille in crafts,
>> was,Re: more
>> picture info
>>
>>
>> > Okay, as usual, I'm a little behind in reading all of the posts I
>> > receive from Krafters Korner.  I just read this one about using
>> Braille in crafts.
>> > I was once involved with a ministry with my former church
>> in Pompano
>> > Beach, FL.  We needed to make crafts and send cards and
>> letters to those
>> > on retreat and I made a cross with full Braille cells.  I
>> put it on a book
>> > mark and another time, I made the cross on post cards and
>> wrote a note on
>> > the back. People who received these little gifts really
>> liked them and
>> > were fascinated by them as they had never seen crafts made
>> from Braille.
>> > I think large Braille dots would make some nice crafts for
>> borders, etc.
>> > I never got the chance to experiment with this but I think
>> it would work.
>> > this could be achieved with a slate and styllus.  I used a
>> Braille writer
>> > for the crosses, though.
>> >
>> > Regards,
>> >
>> > Denise
>> >
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: Lindy van der Merwe
>> > Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2011 1:46 PM
>> > To: List for blind crafters and artists
>> > Subject: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Using braille in crafts,
>> was,Re: more
>> > picture info
>> >
>> > Yes, Terry, I am currently checking out the program to
>> figure out what
>> > it can do. I have to figure out some of the terms and
>> concepts since
>> > it has been a long
>> > time since I have done these type of calculations.
>> > If anybody manages a drawing, please let us know. Even if
>> it just prints
>> > on
>> > a normal printer, I am sure my husband and children will have some
>> > comments about my attempts at drawing (grin).
>> > Related to the subject of drawing without sight, I have
>> actually used
>> > braille in the past in some of my crafts. I normally used my
>> > Perkins Brailler, for instance, to make a frame around an a5-sized
>> piece of paper
>> > for a birthday card or for a photo frame. I would sometimes
>> use a straight
>> > line or a pattern, like the ie-ie- combination, or similar.
>> I have also
>> > drawn some basic shapes in braille for my children to
>> colour or decorate.
>> > Lastly I have used braille for texture when folding origami
>> boxes, for
>> > instance. I would either do the braille myself or use pages of old
>> > magazines.
>> > Lindy
>> >
>> > ----- Original Message -----
>> > From: "Powers, Terry (NIH/OD/DEAS) [E]" <Terry.Powers at nih.gov>
>> > To: "'List for blind crafters and artists'"
>> > <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
>> > Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2011 8:57 PM
>> > Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] more picture info
>> >
>> >
>> >> Lindi;
>> >> If we can get this working, Look at the patern world it
>> would open up
>> >> to
>> >> you.  Any one you know in your country or in the US could mail you
>> >> diagrams of paterns, shapes...
>> >> It would open up a new way of shairing paterns and ideas!
>> >>
>> >> Terry P.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> -----Original Message-----
>> >> From: Lindy van der Merwe [mailto:stephlin at iafrica.com]
>> >> Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2011 2:23 PM
>> >> To: List for blind crafters and artists
>> >> Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] more picture info
>> >>
>> >> Thank you, Joyce.
>> >> I find this all very interesting. I find the idea of being able to
>> >> draw with a computer program, and as a blind person, quite
>> fascinating. I am
>> >> sure there are all kinds of uses for such a program, e.g.
>> being able to
>> >> draw simple shapes/pictures of basic objects, numbers and
>> letters for our
>> >> children, card making, scrap booking, and of course for
>> crafts that may
>> >> become more accessible by using such a program, not to mention the
>> >> possibilities for blind students and teachers.
>> >> Here in South Africa, as in other countries, braille
>> printers are quite
>> >> expensive for the average blind person and there are only
>> a few places
>> >> that will do braille embossing; normally it can take a
>> long time too, so
>> >> there is a waiting period.
>> >> So, I would be interested in other ways of making the print into a
>> >> tactile format, which will enable one to do a drawing,
>> print or emboss,
>> >> or whatever, and feel what you have drawn.
>> >> I also like the idea of being able to write a line of
>> text. I can see
>> >> some possibilities for this too.
>> >> Lindy
>> >> ----- Original Message -----
>> >> From: <Blindhands at aol.com>
>> >> To: <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
>> >> Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2011 7:47 PM
>> >> Subject: [Nfb-krafters-korner] more picture info
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>> OK I found out what PIAF is.  By the way in case anyone wants to
>> >>> know P I A F stands for pictures in a flash.  The machine that
>> >>> basically produces this is a heating unit.  The price for it is
>> >>> $1399 plus $45 shipping. This
>> >>> only can produce black and white photos.  That is what  I
>> was told by
>> >>> a company that sells these babies.  Professor Baldwin
>> also  mentioned
>> >>> that the paper used to produce these graphics with this
>> cost 80 cents
>> >>> per sheet.
>> >>>
>> >>> So that is that information for us.
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>> Joyce  Kane
>> >>> _www.KraftersKorner.org_ (http://www.krafterskorner.org/)
>> >>> Blindhands at AOL.com
>> >>> _______________________________________________
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>> >>> lin%40iafrica.com
>> >>>
>> >>>
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>> >>> 09/22/11
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>> >>
>> >>
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