Read the latest interview  with 

Lynda Lambert & Suzanne Gibson.  

Two Pennsylvania artists are featured in

TOUCH ART BLOG 

We sat down with Kirsten Ervan recently  and  discussed  our  forthcoming

TWO PERSON Art Exhibition,

VISION and REVISION.

We talked about our own sight loss and how we continue to MAKE ART !

http://touchartblog.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/continuing-our-creative-lives-an-interview-with-artists-suzanne-gibson-and-lynda-lambert/

What Does Good Writing do for Us?

 What does GOOD WRITING do for us?

 

I think the most important thing a piece of writing can do is move the reader into another place in their own mind.  A visually impaired writer friend  did this for me today.  I read his latest essay. He wrote an article on "driving" for his blog. My mind moved through his words, and into my own place and time. Isn't that what GOOD WRITING should do for us? 

 

His words made me think of my own loss of driving. 

I have to say, driving is the  thing I miss very much.  Driving is a physical  act, in itself. I miss the physicality of operating my hot little Z-car and the feeling of freedom I experienced. I drove wherever I wanted to go.  Driving enabled me to get myself to airports so I could take off for trips to Europe every summer. I felt freedom when I arrived there by myself - I loved driving to the airport, leaving my car in the long-term parking lot, and getting on board for a long flight. 

 

Some days, I just took the top out of my car, and drove for a few hours, just to feel the breeze in my hair, the music surrounded me, and I was one with the road beneath us.  Driving is a dance in time and space; it is pure enchantment.

 

The driving I miss most of all is the dance I enjoyed  every time I rode  my motorcycle.  At time we screamed down the highway surrounded by traffic.   Summer days, we maneuvered on the rough and winding rural roads with other friends on bikes.  I met the challenges of the switchbacks. I drove into sharp hairpin curves and down into the western Pennsylvania gorges; we climbed together  up the steep thrusting curved roads.  My eyes focused ahead for the upcoming curves and watched for oncoming traffic. The concentration required to do the rain slicked mountain roads made my hands sweat with pleasure inside the fingerless leather driving gloves. Each new turn captured my full attention. I was in the moment and time seemed to stand still.

 

 My bike  is the "Blue Dragon."  

She sets these days in my garage, covered up, and alone. My husband takes her out just to exercise her parts, but just for short rides around town. My Blue Dragon has the most fantastic paintings all over her that anyone could dream up. Wherever we went together, people would stop what they were doing to come and have a look, and smile. 

 

When a person rides a bike that they love, it's a feeling of personal freedom. One afternoon, I rode the "Blue Dragon"  through Amish country.  I was alone, dressed in black leathers. I  passed the little country school house at a time when  the children were outside playing.  It was a sunny day in the autumn, and the entire landscape was ablaze with vivid colors. The teacher watched me passing by the school yard. Then, the unexpected happened as she raised her arm to give me a wave. I can still see her broad smile, in my memory. I raised my arm to her in response, and we smiled at each other briefly as I passed by.  It was a special moment, when two sisters recognized each other. For that moment, we were one with the universe.

 

Just for fun, at night, I often did  something surprising when I  sat at a red light in traffic.  I  threw a switch and the Blue Dragon suddenly  lit up the road beneath us with the bright green neon lights.  The switch was located just  underneath my seat. The brilliant lights were  a surprise, and children shouted with happiness, laughed and pointed to me.  They waved to me, as their parents laughed and nodded with approval at my little light show on the pavement. The traffic light changed  and Blue Dragon's neon lights were switched off.  I clutched the bike and kicked her into first gear; we drove into the darkness.

 

Occasionally,  I still walk out to the garage and put my right leg up over her seat and place my two feet firmly on the concrete floor. I shift her weight with my hands on her handlebars and I give a quick upwards tug to balance her on two wheels. She feels weightless.

The long black leather solo seat holds my body erect and provides just the right amount of tension for the weight to be balanced. I sit there, and I hold onto the handlebars with my arms extended. I pull her clutch in towards the palm of my left hand.  With the toe of my left foot, I thrust it  upwards, kick her into gear.  For a moment, we are about to leave for a drive once again. Only for a moment.

 

What do I miss the most about being visually impaired?

 I miss my time on the dance floor with my Blue Dragon!

Behind Our Eyes: A Second Look

Leave me a message - tell me what you think about my latest post. Thanks.

The newly released literary anthology 

Behind Our Eyes: A Second Look 

features poems  by 

Lynda McKinney Lambert

Pennsylvania writer and visual artist

 Published by Behind Our Eyes, Inc., a 501C-3 nonprofit organization.

Behind Our Eyes: A Second Look 
is the second anthology by a unique
collection of 65 writers with disabilities.
cats and rabbits to guide dogs and even a guide horse, from medical
fiascos to survival tactics, and through pangs of deprivation to
heights of success. 

     The vivid tapestry of life woven through their
stories, poems, and essays, demonstrates what a captivating and
diverse group of writers they are; yet their creative writing
collection showcases their similarities to each other and the world
at large.

ISBN 978-1490304472

Books are are NOW available through Amazon.com for $13.42 per soft
cover book. This is a special discount introductory price.
The anthology is  also available in Kindle and Nook formats. 
 

      

      You can see the book and look into it’s pages or make your purchase of the  book at:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Behind%20Our%20eyes&sprefix=Behin%2Cstripbooks&rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3ABehind%20Our%20eyes

Art show winners - Ellwood City Ledger: Local News

Art show winners - Ellwood City Ledger: Local News

You can click on the Ledger link and SEE ME with my BEST OF SHOW award winning art, DANCE OF THE NEW MOON.

Leave me a message - tell me what you think about my latest post. Thanks.

Best of Show winner overcomes blindness through art - Ellwood City Ledger: Local News

Best of Show winner overcomes blindness through art - Ellwood City Ledger: Local News

There is absolutely no reason that a person with sight loss cannot continue to be a creative person!

This article in the Ellwood City Ledger gives a little bit of my story to find my way again as an artist after I was sidelined in October 2007 by Ischemic Optic Neuropathy. this very quick event left me with "profound blindness."  But, the ARTIST who dwells inside of me, found ways to continue to create art and to continue to be in art exhibitions and even to win the Best of Show Award.

Leave me a message - tell me what you think about my latest post. Thanks.

Easter Sunday - One Awesome Love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1D9NRG1HRo

Click on the LINK  above to see this wonderful video today.

 "Easter  Sunday Morning"

The early morning choir twitters -

Chirps  deep inside  the dusty bushes,

accompanied by  low, long mournful tones

of wheels turning against the pavement.

A hidden lemon chiffon sun brightens the  sky

somewhere behind  layers of  melancholy  mists -

softly  warming  the  mahogany branches

of starkly naked springtime trees.

I made no special plans for today-

no periwinkle blue  shoes or silken  amethyst  dress.

Instead, I recline on soft linen  pillows

and  write on ashen  journal pages. 

Tranquil.  I listen and watch.

A gloomy opening of a hillside cave

unravels  through my thoughts.

From somewhere in the Eastern world,

stories of old dreams continue to be told.

 I contemplate  the meaning of this day.

Lynda McKinney Lambert. Copyright, 1999 and 2013.

 All rights reserved.

Listen to this lovely  Video:

One Awesome Savior

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1D9NRG1HRo

d

How do YOU do it?

Good Morning Friends,

I was asked recently:

How are you able to write a blog?

How can you create a website?

How DOES a person who is blind do these things? 

How did you learn to do it?

I cannot see details and colors since I have no central vision. I have only some peripheral vision and that is not clear at all. The sight that I have is akin to walking in a snow squall. Everything is grayed out and blurred, with an occasional glimpse of something significant. I can usually detect something that is moving, if there is contrast.

The way that I do see, is with high contrast. I see no nuances or subtle color changes in anything.

 When I am knitting, my friends and family explain to me what colors they see in my yarn. To me, it mostly looks all gray.  I am always delighted when they tell me of the wonderful colors they are seeing there!

How do I manage my website and my blog?

I had very extensive knowledge about how to do websites and blogs BEFORE sight loss. I had two blogs and have had a  website for many years. (I am a former professor of Fine Arts and Humanities, at Geneva College, Beaver Falls, PA)

Before sight loss, I wrote about one of my passions, knitting. I did it for relaxation and to share information/patterns/finished projects on the blogs.

It was a nice get-a-way from my professional life. Knitting is very relaxing to me, and I love the feel of the soft yarns as they slip through my fingers. There is nothing that can compare to the feel of a hand knitted garment, that is one-of-a-kind, original.

How do I maintain and create my  website?

 My website is where I share images of my art works.  Before sight loss, I used to share photos of of my paintings, wood cut prints, upcoming show information, and my travel/study trips to Europe every summer. The website was a recruiting tool for that program.

For twelve years, I taught a course called Drawing and Writing in Salzburg. Students at the college could take my course for credits in Humanities, English, or Studio Art.

We lived in the Alps in Austria every summer until 2008 (I lost my sight in the fall of 2007). College students and came with me to  Austia for a month every summer. While there I worked in my art studio in the village school, just outside of Salzburg. I taught classes every morning Monday - Thursday until noon. Our class met early each morning  in the school, and each day we took trips all over the area. They had writing and art assignments at a different location every day. On weekends, I took the students to a different country - Italy for the Redintore Festival every year in Venice.  We traveled to  Czech Republic, where we visited small villages and of course, Prague.  In Germany, we traveled on boats over deep Alpine lakes, ancient cities,  and castles

This is how I knew HOW to make a website - through marketing my own art and my Drawing and Writing in Salzburg courses.

When I lost my sight - overnight - I was completely LOST. For five months I really sat in a chair and listened to Public Radio as I did not know how to do anything at all. My husband brought me books on CDs from the local library - I was completely LOST and no one knew what to do with me.  It took five months of very hard work to learn that there was such a thing as rehab for blind people - and finally, after an existence that was meaningless, I got to go to a rehab center in Pittsburgh.

There, I learned that I could do things again. But the realization that I had in an instant gone from teaching and lecturing on a very high level, and had plunged to a level that was less than kindergarten became very clear to me.  The  LEARNING CURVE for a person who has entered the world of sight loss  is the steepest learning curve I have ever experienced, just to begin to live again and do the most basic things.

I was at the Blind and Vision Rehabilitation Services in Homestead, PA  for 15 weeks, and did very well. I still had no computer skills, when I left there. But, I had the “Intro to blindness” skills that completely changed my life and my future. I found out that there is almost nothing that I cannot do. I just have to learn how to ADAPT to doing everything in a new way that works for me.

After FOUR YEARS of sight loss, I am still learning how to adapt all the time as new situations come up. There are still moments when I lose it for a little while and have to get my bearings, and begin again.

Relearning the computer   took another two  years  to be able to write a blog or work on my website  again I can now process photos by myself, and upload them onto my computer.  As a VISUAL ARTIST this is important for me to do. I share my work with the world through my blog and my website. 

I am still the VISUAL ARTIST I have always been, but now I have learned to ADAPT to my new situation.

Through this blog, I am able to take you on the journey with me as I learn how to do new things and how to re-learn the things I once took for granted.

The learning curve is the steepest one I could ever have imagined.

TENACITY is the KEY to success - in everything.

Don't GIVE UP, and Do not QUIT TRYING.

This is one of the newest pieces of pottery I made. I never knew I could make pottery!

These days, I am making pottery, knitting, and creating intricate encrusted bead work.

I do it all by TOUCH, non-Visually, and in some cases with the help of TECHNOLOGY.

Life is still good...

 Life is still a creation in process!

> 

Art is God's Voice

Pay attention to poetry.

Pay attention to music.

Pay attention to paintings and sculptures and photo exhibits and ballets and plays.

Why?

Because art is God's way of saying hello. Your world is shouting out to you, revealing something intrinsically glorious about itself.

Listen carefully.

Love art, the way art loves life.

Don't let all this go unnoticed. _Neale Donald Walsh_

I have a page on Face Book. You can find me there by typing in my username:  Lynda McKinney Lambert. I use this page to keep in touch with friends mostly. It’s a place where I can chitchat with friends and family. Lots of times, I post interesting things that I like. I share them with anyone who might visit my page that day.

You can also find another page that I have on FaceBook. It is the business page where I keep my friends and clients updated on my upcoming exhibitions and show photos of that is going on in my studio. That page is:  River Road Studio


http://www.facebook.com/pages/River-Road-Studio/175785105811956

You can visit this page and when you do PLEASE click on the LIKE button there. This way I know there are friends who like my work and like to hear about what is happening in my artistic professional life. Please visit me there soon. And, be sure to leave a comment for me!

I like to check my two FaceBook pages every morning. Often I see some gems  to  enjoy. Every now and again, I find something that makes me sit up and pay attention. Some things rise above the usually mundane. Today is one of those days. I found the quote above, posted by Neale Donald Walsh. I really love this post today!

You know, it is in the ARTS that we can LEARN what is really going on in our world.  

The evening news does not have a clue as to what is really going on. It is through the ARTS that we learn about our world. The arts give us insights into the future as well as understanding of the present. The only things is, you have to be willing to STOP and take a LOOK. Stop and LISTEN. STOP.  


The ARTS make us THINK and thinking takes TIME. The ARTS stop us in our TRACKS.

I have often heard from a philosopher friend that when he wants to know what is going on, he looks to ART to give him the SCOOP. The inside information. It is hidden. Art REVEALS. Through ART we can actually SEE OUR SELF.

Neale Donald Walsh has it right.

“Pay attention to poetry. Pay attention to music. Pay attention to paintings and sculptures and photo exhibits and ballets and plays. Why? Because art is God's way of saying hello. Your world is shouting out to you, revealing something intrinsically glorious about itself. Listen carefully. Love art, the way art loves life. Don't let all this go unnoticed."  Neale Donald Walsh

Read it again.

“Art is the WORLD saying HELLO to you!  ART is God’s way of speaking to you. Say HELLO to GOD. Go look at some art. Go listen to a musical performance. Go.  Let God have a WORD with you soon.” _Lynda Lambert_

Artists Continue to Make Art After Sight Loss

Question: What does an artist do when she loses her sight?

Answer: She makes Art!

I love reading about how other artists deal with loss of sight. I often wondered how an artist would cope with sight loss. I had read of many artists who lost their eyesight. When I was teaching and lecturing on art and artists, I would often note when an artist would be blind, after years of making art. I wondered how that transition would be made by the artist. I never suspected that it would happen to ME! We seldom ever see ourselves beyond how we are at the moment. And, I believe, we seldom ever imagine that WE would some day have a disability or a challenge like the one we read about that someone ELSE has. .

Making art was something I did most of my life. I cannot remember not making art. When confronted with my own challenge of sudden and profound sight loss in 2007, it meant that I shifted from making painting and woodcut prints, to making pottery.

I have always been a very optimistic person - mostly. After the initial shock and months (now 3 1/2 years) of rehabilitation, I viewed my sight loss as an entry into a new world and took it as a chance to make a new life for myself - one I would never have chosen to make.Sight Loss marked a new phase in my life - I celebrated by switching to a new art medium instead of trying to resurrect the former ones I had worked in for over 30 years. Sight Loss meant a New Kind of Life - New Paths to explore. New Adventures - New Friends - and New Ways of Doing EVERYTHING.

It's nearly the end of April! It's a nice sunny day. My travels for the month of April are now behind me, Bob and I had celebrated our 50th Anniversary on April 14 in Puerto Rico. Our daughter Ilsa and her family was there with us for the week. Then, we traveled to Ilsa's home for our annual family celebration in Kentucky.

Upon our arrival back home yesterday, I started cleaning my studio for the season. It is a kind of ritual that I have to do every spring - Spring Cleaning of the River Road Studio. Once I have it all in order, then I can begin to work there.

Today, I will finish it and be in there working on my pottery and bead work creations from mow till December when I close it for the winter months. SPRING is HERE in PA, Officially.

My studio is now OPEN and I am IN IT AGAIN. But now, there is not the smell of paints and inks, and stacks of canvases. Now, it is CLAY and POTS and a table with a CCTV on it so I can work away at my intricate encrusted bead worked pieces. I have one-person gallery show that will open in September, so I have lots of work to do from now until then.

Art truly is for everyone - even blind people. this blind photographer inspired me today!

USAirways provided me with a trip through hell yesterday

Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in a pilot program for blind. I was selected out of applicants from across the United States and given a grant by the eBay Corporation in partnership with the National Federation of the Blind. Sixteen blind people were selected for this special grant from eBay. As part of our grant we were flown to and from Baltimore, MD. My flight was from my home in Pennsylvania. I was given a lovely place to stay at the NFB Conference Center, and fantastic meals. In addition, I was in training classes ever day with the 15 other participants in this experimental program.

I was a bit nervous about getting to and from Baltimore as I had never traveled alone by plane since my sight loss three years ago. I did not let my apprehension keep me from going and so I started my trip on Monday morning, February 21 at the Pittsburgh Airport. My husband left me at the Continental Airlines counter where we were assured I would be taken to my gate, and then given help on boarding. I was to take two flights to get to Baltimore.

A delightful gentleman helped me from the counter through security and then to my gate. As I had a little while before the plane left, he came back through a couple of times just to be sure I was ok. Another attendant who would be in charge of getting me on the plane came, too. I was made to feel comfortable. Everything went perfectly due to their help. I made the two flights just as scheduled. and when I arrived at the Baltimore airport my driver was there at the gate to take me to the National Center for the Blind, so that I could join my peers there and begin the program. I thought, now, I am not afraid to travel anywhere by myself. This is wonderful, and I am over my fear of solo traveling.

At the end of my week in Baltimore I was taken by van to the airport to begin the two flight journey that would get me back to Pittsburgh again. Since I had such a good experience flying to Baltimore via Continental Airlines, I had no idea what was waiting to unfold for me on the trip home. I arrived at the airport at 8 am. There, I was told that my two flights had been cancelled. I was rebooked to fly home via USAirways. I would be taking one plane to Philadelphia, and then another to Pittsburgh. I thought, well, that is ok.

I was walked through security there and escorted to my gate which was in the far reaches of the bottom level of the airport. I was told I would be pre-boarded, as usual, and I relaxed and sat there with my knitting because I knew I had about 1 1/2 hours to wait. Finally, an attendant came to the podium, and I thought I better go and just make my presence known and to reassure me that I would indeed be pre-boarded . The attendant was very aloof with me, like I was a nuisance, and she snapped, "When you hear me make the announcement, you will be boarded." I told here where I would be sitting so that someone could help me. She made no comment and I went back to my seat. In a short while a passenger was pre-boarded. He was in a wheelchair. So, I thought, I will be next. I waited. She made her announcement for people with special needs to come forward. I went up to her podium again, and thought that meant me. She asked from my ticket. I had it in an envelope with another ticket. I offered her my envelope and asked her to get the correct ticked for my flight. Since I cannot see, I had no way to know exactly which ticket was the correct one. She grabbed the envelope from me with a loud sigh. She pulled out the correct ticket and handed it to me. Instead of any help, I was told to "step aside because she she had to get all the other passengers on the plane. She said she “does not have time to get me boarded” and did not have time to help me. She told me I would have to wait for someone else to come help me. I have no idea why I was not pre-boarded when the passenger in the wheel chair and his were pre-boarded. Instead, I was left to wait again. So there I stood while all the other people in the plane filed by as their sections were called out by this woman. I did not know what to do, since she was certainly boarding the entire plane and I was standing by myself to the side as everyone paraded past me. I was very cold as I was standing there with the doors open as one by one, all the other’s passed me by.

Eventually, a passenger who was going by came up to me and asked if she could help me. I told her I was standing there because I was told by the attendant to wait, and this stranger went up to the attendant and told her she would take me to the plane. The passenger came back and took me by the arm and carefully led me to the plane, got me in my seat and told me to wait when the plane landed as she would be back to help me out and to my gate. When the plane landed in Philadelphia, this passenger came to help me as she promised. No one from the airline ever came near me to help me in any way.

The woman's name is Christina. Christina took me into the airport, took me to my gate and stayed with me. She even took me to get some food and to the bathroom. Her gate was near mine, and she repeatedly came to talk with the flight attendants to be sure I would have help in boarding. The planes were delayed and we had several hours till the next plane that I would get to Pittsburgh. Two attendants, Elizabeth and Terrance, were fabulous and they kept an eye on me and they took care of making sure I was put on the plane that would take me to Pittsburgh. I thought my troubles were now over, but I was very wrong on that assumption.

When we landed in Pittsburgh, a special attendant from USAirways came on board to get me, and took me on a cart. I thought, this is great, finally I will be back with my husband and on our way home. The attendant did not take me to the luggage area however. Instead, she took me to a place where the escort services work from and she left me there in a seat and told me she would be back. She was going to go get my husband, or at least locate him and get me to him. She never did come back. I had numerous conversations with the women who were working in the escort services area. After a very long time, they decided to take me to the baggage pick up area and were hoping to find my husband and get us united again. And, this is how I finally got to him.

Meanwhile, my husband had not been notified that they had switched me onto a different airlines and completely different time schedules. He was at the airport for hours trying to find out where I was. When my plane returned, and I was not on it, he went seeking help. Finally he was told I was coming on a flight from Philadelphia instead of Newark, and that it was hours later than the original flight was to be.

Eventually he found my luggage in the baggage dept but I never arrived at the baggage department. After an hour or so of trying to get information on where I was. My husband was told by the personnel in Baggage Dept. that I was put on a cart and was on my way.

I was finally brought to the baggage area by the woman from the escort services because the woman from the USAirways who drove the cart had left me at the escort services and never returned to get me. In all, I had left Baltimore at 8 am yesterday, and was not back to my home till nearly 8 pm - just from Baltimre to Pittsburgh.

Of course, I will be flying alone again because I am not a woman to quit when the going is tough. Next time, I might not be so foolish as to think that all people who work for the airlines will observe the Americans With Disabilities Act and obey the Federal Laws to provide help for people with disabilities. US Airways needs to do a lot of training so that all their employees get the message that it is the law to provide for their special needs passengers and it is unlawful for them to refuse to board such passengers and to abandon them and not return to help them complete their trip safely.

I have tickets to Puerto Rico for April and they are on US Airways. After my horrifying experiences with this airline yesterday, I am quite uneasy about my safety. And, I am still wondering if some blind people just disappear and never get to their destination. Are blind people still standing aside while all the other passengers are taken care of right now? Is a blind person sitting somewhere in a chair waiting for the airline personnel to come back as promised? Is there a "missing persons" department or a "lost and found" department for blind people who fly on USAirways? Will I actually get to Puerto Rico in April? And, if I do, will I ever get back home again? And, how many more humiliations and broken promises will I endure the next time I fly USAirways?

Create a Quiet Place to Read

Create a special place in your home that is just for reading. I have done this recently and it has brought so much peace to my home. It is a special room that I can go to when I want solitude. Here I read and knit on the winter days that we have in western Pennsylvania. Here, I will share this secluded place with you today.

At the top of my list of favorite things would be books.

I savor the books by authors who challenge or uplift my mind and leave a residue of wonder behind long after I have read the final page. I close that book with regret that it has come to the end. I treasure the books that have fully developed characters. The characters become living people who transcend the ordinary and mundane and leave an impression on the reader. Books take me to places I have never been before. They take me to places I will never be going in person. They take me into their world where I meet individuals who each have something to share with me personally. I see them, listen to them, and I have communication with them, if the book is well written by a sensitive and honest author.

I have created a library in my home. It is a room on the second floor devoted to books and reading. In this room there are books on shelves from the floor to the ceiling. The books are surrounded by art works on the walls, tables, and pedestals. The art in the room reflect the things I like to be surrounded with - things made by friends, my husband, my children, and me.

There are paintings by friends and also paintings that I have created over the years. You can see photographs from friends, lithographs, stained glass pieces made by my husband, a woven tapestry by one of my daughters, a tapestry that I made many years ago. On a primitive table there are sculptures from Africa and one dynamic piece made by an artist friend. there is a tall black column of stone, a favorite sculpture made by an art school friend. Here you can find pottery that I recently made, handmade baskets woven out of cloth and honeysuckle vines, by West Virginia artisans. there is a striking Victorian style clock that once hung in my husband’s grandmother’s home. I seldom wind it up, but I enjoy it as a work of art.

This library is a place of solitude and peace. There is a futon and two chairs in the library. They form a circle in the center of this space. An overnight guest may stay there and be surrounded by art and literature and have a time apart to read, rest or relax. A space that holds books and art is a sacred space.

This is the room where I read my audio books. Since I can no longer see to read the physical books on the shelves, I use a special audio book machine that is provided to the blind and handicapped people through the US Library of Congress. The books I had selected arrive in my mail box and after I have read them, I put them back in the mailbox and they are sent on to another person to enjoy. This service is free to those of us who would be unable to enjoy books and reading without it. I am so appreciative of this service.

As I read the book, I am knitting on special projects. Right now, it is a Prayer Shawl. I do not yet know who the shawl will be for, but when the time is right, I will know.

My library room is the perfect place to spend the hours of a winter day. It is warm and comforting and time stands still here in the library. I bring my cup of tea with me, sit down in my high back chair that supports my back so well. I reach into my woven knitting basket, slowly pull out my soft and colorful yarn, pick up my smooth bamboo needles, and begin listening to my book.

Your library will reflect your own tastes and interests. Think about where you might create such a space for your own enjoyment. You do not have to be blind or handicapped to have such a wonderful place to read!

My Thanksgiving Wish for 2010

A little girl, Isabella Daley, was adoped a year ago by a loving family who already had three children. "Bella" was born with multiple birth defects due to an assault on her while she was still in the womb, and drug use by the biological mother. The Daley family has given Bella the love that all children need. They have been with her through many hospitalizations, and other things that we would never know about when raising a normal child.

Isabella is now in need of therapies for the next year. These therapies will cost more than most any family could ever pay for and I thought that perhaps I could help Bella and her family our by getting the word out so that people know about the needs for Bella.

I have written about Bella on my FaceBook page. I have sent out a letter today to everyone on my E-mail address book. And, I am writing about Bella on this blog right now. As a blind person, this is something I can do in my way to help this family. I cannot help them by drinving them to doctor or hospital appointments. I would if I could. I cannot help them by going to their home and doing whatever needs done. I would have no way of getting there as it is too far away and I would not have transportation to get there. But, what I can do, is to tell YOU about this family and ask you to help by giving whatever amount you can give to the Isabella Daley Fund.

Here is the address to send your donation:

Isabella Daley Fund

P.O. Box 31

North Washington, PA 16048

When you send a gift, you can ask for the number that you can use to get your tax deduction if you need that.

I hope you will be able to give a gift of any size at all to help make MY Thanksgiving Wish come true for Bella this coming week.

Thank you for your generosity and love for children with special needs.

Be Sure to add your name as a "follower" of Bella on her blog so you get the updates every time they are published. And, if you are on FaceBook, type in "Saving Bella" in the SEARCH bar and you can "LIKE" this page and get updates daily there.

While you are at it, put yourself on as a FOLLOWer of mine for this blog, too!

When You Come to a Roadblock: Slow Down and Stop

One thing is certain.

Change will come.

Changes will be unexpected and will happen when you least expect them. Some changes will be welcome and you will embrace them. Some will be changes you might never have wanted and really won't want to embrace them and invite them inside for a visit. You have no choice in the matter. It is guaranteed that you will have changes as they are a part of our life. Some of the changes will be life altering. Sight loss is life altering. Sudden blindness comes unexpectedly and you are stopped in your tracks, confused, and uncertain what your next step will be. This blog is devoted to sight loss issues and how an artist deals with this situation. This is my way of communicating with others who have experienced sight loss, or are helping someone through this journey.

Recently, Channel 21 Youngstown, Ohio, WFMJ TV did a short feature on the changes that came to my life when in a few days time, I was plunged into a world of sight loss. As a visual artist, it would be the most dreaded situation. In this video I discuss the major change that I had three years ago, and how I have continued to be an artist despite the change.

The biggest difference in my life now, is that I was forced to slow down and stop for awhile.

It was like coming suddenly upon a stop sign along the road. You have to stop immediately and just sit there awhile until the light changes and you can then proceed on your journey. For a person like me who lived an intense life of teaching, lecturing, traveling, writing, and making art it was a sudden jolt.

The thing that caused the loss is not so important. What is important is what we do after the change happens to us.

I am learning to practice "mindfulness" during the day. Instead of continuing on at the frantic pace I had lived as a professor I find that now I have slowed down and have time to really appreciate my life so much more.

My mantra for the day is "Slow Down and Live."

Click Here for Video

Getting the Word Out

I have become a missionary. My mission is to get the word out on sight loss. It's time to put the myths to rest. Find out what sight loss really means these days. Rehabilitation is available and you can live a good life AFTER sight loss.

I have a message to share with people. the message is not about what happened to me, or to any other person who has lost eye sight. How we lost our sight is really not as important as how we continued to life our lives AFTER we lost our sight.

Recently, I have done a number of interviews with regional newspapers and a TV station because I am an ARTIST who lost my eyesight three years ago. The "story" really is not that a I cannot see, but the story is that even though I cannot see I can still make VISUAL ART. Yes, it is amazing. I know now that anything is possible for those who want to move forward regardless of the losses we have had.

Blind and Vision Rehabilitation Services of Homestead, PA was the place where I went to get the help I needed to begin to learn how to live my life in a new way. This non-profit organization is celebrating 100 years of service this year.

My story was one of the success stories published recently. The story is on the link that I have added to this article.

If you, or anyone you know needs some help in adjusting to personal blindness, why not give the BVRS a call and set up an appointment. You can arrange a visit the facility and SEE for yourself what you might learn to do. Getting help is a big first step towards your new life. Find out what you just might be missing.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_701676.html

New Vessels - From the Kiln

COLOR and TEXTURE - It's All in the Layers!

The newest pieces to come ouot of the kiln were exciting to see. You never know just what is going on in there, till you finally get the firing over with and open the top of the kiln to have a look. As you take the pieces out one by one, it can be very exciting or not so exciting according to what you find there. This time, I was delighted with the results of the newest pieces as they emerged from their final trip to the kiln.

Two large vessels were experiments in color and texture. I experimented with layers of oxide stains. Two of the vessels are now finished and a third one will be going into the kiln soon. They are approximately 15 inches across the top, and 14 inches tall.

What interests me in my art making is the sense of "passage of time." I try to get a look and feel my works - things that show this passage somehow. These newest vessels achieved that feeling.

New Friends

I have found some new friends who are creating art and crafts. They are also blind!

I was told about a group of artisans who are members of the National Foundation of the Blind organization. I have recently made contact with them. I registerd to be on their list of artists and I am now getting personal e-mails from some of the members.

It is amazing the things that these blind artisans are doing! I am so inspired by their notes on the site list and their notes to me personally. I hav found other people who do bead embroidery. I have not even tried to do it again since my sight loss. But, it has been on my mind all the time. That has been my desire, to once again be able to pick up a very slim needle, get out my gemstone cabachons, and tiny seed beads, and work on a project. I was doing "Encrusted Beadwork" at the time I lost my vision and have longed to be able to create some pieces once again. Now I know it is possible, because others are already doing it and have contacted me.

I am beginning to make pottery, and that has kept me occupied as I work my way through the process learning how to feel the clay and turn it from a piece of mud into something lovely. There are potters on this website and list, too.

And, knitting has been my passion for years. Yes, I have found other knitters, too.

What is so amazing is that these people do "classes" using the telephone call conferencing option. By doing this, people from all over the country can be in the same "place" at the same time, and be "in a class" together through the phone conference call. Amazing, isn't it!

Now you can understand why I am so excited. Daily, I am getting contact emeails from artisans who introduce themselves to me, the new member. And, I am having a blast meeting these talented and lively people. They make me realize that there is next to nothing that I cannot do again.

But, don't expect to see my driving by in my car. That won't be happening!