Students in the California School for the Blind art classes have more than 100 paintings, sculptures, drawings, ceramic pieces, papier mach artwork, multimedia three-dimensional designs and photographs on display at the Museum of Children's Art in Oakland.

The idea for the current exhibit -- the school's first museum display -- developed after several blind students individually submitted work to MOCHA last year, said Kelly Doyle, onsite program coordinator and registrar at the museum. The artwork was so compelling and fascinating that the museum offered the school its own show, she said.

In the school's art room, Green was taking a break from her papier mach project to re-examine some of her old creations: a self-portrait, a chubby purple dragon with red polka dots and a bright orange dragon with a white-tipped cane and the name "I Can Find My Way."

Students at the school have various degrees of blindness and visual impairments. Green said she favors bright, contrasting colors because she can't see other colors well.

"Bright colors stick out," she said. "You look at things, and then the bright colors say 'Hello, I'm over here!' It's almost like my sculptures and things are screaming to be noticed."

In the meantime, Bill Henson, who is completely blind, grinned as he sculpted a soup bowl.

"It's just fun getting your hands dirty and knowing that you're building something," he said. "I don't care if my hands get blistered or if I have sawdust all over me -- I get a lot of pride out of making things."

Henson, who used to have normal vision, said he remembers what things generally look like, but has trouble with the details.

"When you're visual, you can see all the details -- like the whiskers, if you're making a cat," he said. "We can't, so we've got to imagine the face and go off that. It's fun and challenging."

Art teacher Stephanie Dains said art plays an important therapeutic role in blind students' lives, which often can be frustrating and stressful.

Daily weather changes affect some students' visual conditions, she said, adding that many students get lost when it's windy because of the disruption to their auditory cues. Some students are in denial about their vision problems, others know their vision is getting worse and several are dealing with issues aside from blindness, Dains said.

"They all have normal feelings, and how do children like that express their feelings?" she said. "I believe one of the best ways is through art, because you can express them without having to give a name to those feelings or understanding them."

The same day at MOCHA, children and parents were keeping sound to a cheerful roar as they discussed the artwork and tried hands-on displays and projects.

As Doyle strolled through the exhibit, she said the blind students' attention to texture is one of the display's most noticeable traits.

"Of course the sculptures are amazing, but even the two-dimensional art has some texture," she said. "And while many times sculptors want to erase the marks of their hands, here you can really see and feel the artists' hands on the clay. It is very touchable-looking."

She said the exhibit challenges stereotypes about who can be an artist.

"People don't realize that blind children can create art," she said.

Annette Esparza, a parent volunteer at Milani Elementary School in Newark, shook her head in appreciation as she viewed a table of sculptures.

"It's extraordinary, especially for kids who have never seen the world," she said. "And the colors -- it's so interesting how they put them together. It looks like they paint what they see inside their minds. Some have seen only darkness, but this -- it's so bright."

The Oakland Tribune: Cityside
Leanne McLaughlin, Managing Editor
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