Momentum
"A newsletter highlighting issues in the visually impaired and blind community."
Summer 2009
The most beautiful world is always entered through imagination.
-Helen Keller
Table of Contents
- President’s Corner
- Spotlight on Advocacy
- Talking Technology
- Community Corner
- Dear Helen
- Feature:Stories of Perseverance
- Tips and Tricks
- Events
President’s Corner
Hello again! So, where has your momentum taken you in these past months? As for the Monroe county council of the Blind, our momentum has taken us on a number of different journeys. As you will read in this addition, we are focusing more and more on the talents of our members and other blind and visually impaired people around town and beyond. Before we get to that, I’d like just to recap what we’ve been doing over these past months.
Since our last addition of Momentum, and thanks to our fundraising chair person, Caroline McFarlane, our fund raising team and all of our sponsors and contributors, we held another successful golf outing! In 2009, we’re going to try our hand at putting on a bowl-a-thon and are hoping for the same kind of support from our community.
Eleven members celebrated Halloween of 2008 by journeying by motor coach along with two other chapters of the PCB to the 73rd annual state conference and convention in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. I’m proud to say that the MCCB played a big part in making that event more informative by presenting an interesting and fun workshop on improving relationships with the media.
The Monroe county council of the Blind has been named a Qualified Human Service Organization by the Federal Transit Authority and can now use the Monroe County Transit Authority for the purpose of providing charters. This will enhance our ability to travel to conferences and trainings and will increase our opportunities for recreation.
On November 6 through November 8, 2009, the Monroe County Council of the blind will be hosting the 74th annual state conference and convention for the Pennsylvania Council of the Blind at the Chateau Resort and Conference Center. The highlight of this year’s conference will be the Low-Vision Expo planned for Friday, November 6, 2009 where guests will have the opportunity to try out various low-vision devices, hear renowned experts speak about innovative methods of maximizing residual vision and much more. We will be taking a tour of the Cherry Valley Winery and as always, enjoy the company of other visually impaired folks from around the state.
Now I’ll turn this newsletter over to the talent and creativity of the artists, musicians and crafters from all around the county.
Spotlight on Advocacy
This year, members of the Monroe county Council of the blind are engaging in a wide range of advocacy efforts from Washington D.C. to Harrisburg to our own backyard and beyond.
Along with members of the Pennsylvania council of the Blind in a national effort led by the American council of the blind, the MCCB participated in lobbying for the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act, legislation aimed at finding ways to introduce a sound emission in hybrid or what have been called quiet cars in the blind community. We spoke with legislators about the 21st Century communications and Video Accessibility Act, legislation we hope will make onscreen information accessible to sight impaired people. This information ranges from emergency alerts to setting up a DVD player and even such mundane things as volume and channel selection.
In Harrisburg we continue to try to find ways to fund mass transit and transportation such as the programs which fall under Shared Ride.
On the local front, we are working with the East Stroudsburg University Disability Services Office to introduce greater accessibility for their sight impaired students in both their library and disability services office. Of course we continue to advocate for additional Accessible Pedestrian Signals throughout the county.
One of our newest endeavors relates to the right of those who are print impaired to access e-books through a new Text-To-Speech feature introduced in Amazon’s new E-Book Reader called the Kindle 2. The Publisher’s guild has protested our use of this invaluable tool claiming that it violates copyright saying that Amazon did not pay for audio rights, rights usually associated with professionally narrated books. If anyone ever had to sit through a voice synthesized reading of an entire book, they’d understand how ridiculous this assertion is. Having said that, the fact that without access to Text-To-Speech, we who are print impaired would be denied access to over 250,000 E-Books enjoyed by the general public and that is just an outrage. If you’d like to help the MCCB advocate for Text-To-Speech so we can have access to the same materials as those who are not print impaired, sign the We Want to Read Petition.
To learn more about these or any of our advocacy efforts past or present, go to mcbonline.org.
Talking Technology
By Thomas Reid
For this first online only edition of Momentum, we thought we would forgo a tech related article and simply provide you with a few interesting links around the web.
The National Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped has rolled out access to digital books for all those eligible. Check out BARD: Braille and Audio Reading Download.
Since the theme of this issue is art, here are a few interesting related articles:
Community Corner
In this section we will feature a member of the visually impaired and blind community who is living his or her life to the fullest. The article will focus on independence and various methods and techniques used to achieve their goals.
The Art of Encouragement
By Thomas Reid
At the age of 14 when most of us were probably trying to figure out what we want to do with our lives, Michael Bryant knew he was an artist. After reveling in the pictures in a Illustrators trade journal, he directly contacted the artist of the inspirational work and declared “I want to grow up and be an illustrator.”
As a young boy Michael would draw pictures for his mom, “She would put them on the wall, give them to people and “she really made me feel good about art as a small child.” said Michael.
Art was the vehicle allowing Michael to fit in with all types of kids. “I was somewhere in the middle you know, so I knew I didn’t want to get in trouble like the real cool guys, and I didn’t want to be nerdy like the nerd guys.” explained Bryant.
While classmates praised his drawings, one art teacher, Mrs. Chrissen, wasn’t very impressed with his work, according to Bryant. He explained Mrs Chrissen would use tracing paper to show the lack of detail in his realistically styled sketches. Understanding that her motivation was based on her belief in his ability, Michael explains, “She really appreciated my art, but she wanted me to be better.” Chrissen encouraged Michael to visit museums and study the masters in order to help him reach his potential.
With faith in God, his mother, supportive teacher and a mentor Michael was on the right track to accomplishing his goal of becoming a children’s book illustrator. On his way he sharpened his skills by working on projects for magazines, advertisements, poster designs and romance novel covers.
With many completed children’s books to his name, multiple speaking engagements at schools, several contracts for new books Bryant began to notice a change in his work.”I started having some issues and my work started getting looser.” He thought the changes were a natural progression of his art. He began noticing changes outside of his art. Driving a night for example, became very difficult. Sunlight became too bright. The many changes along with severe headaches required Michael to begin altering how he created art and how he performed other life tasks.
The slow degrading sight, which continues, finally resulted in a 1997 diagnosis of Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) -a group of inherited disorders characterized by progressive peripheral vision loss and night vision difficulties. Bryant eventually lost the many contracts for future illustration work. “That’s devastating, we’re talking about a lot of money,” said Bryant explaining his initial reaction to the loss.
Supporting a family including his wife Gina and two daughters, as an artist creating realistic representation of all things visual, the threat of going blind presented Michael with unknown challenges. Michael struggled to accept that his art is different.”Why, why am I going through this?” he wondered to himself. Destroying countless attempts at new paintings because they no longer compared to the work of the once acclaimed artist.
Michael recalls meeting a woman in an elevator in Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. Struggling to find the appropriate button, the frail looking senior quickly stood up straight when she noticed him entering. Familiar with placing his own face extremely close to things in order to read Michael initiated a conversation acknowledging her sight loss. The two discussed the subject and the impact it has on their lives. Everything from The need to finding new ways of doing common household chores, to the family members who often don’t understand what it means to lose sight. This encounter remains a vivid and important memory for Bryant, as it was the day he received his diagnosis and was told he may lose his sight.
Michael recalls asking her, “Can we pray? Cause you shouldn’t go through this and I shouldn’t go through this alone.” Michael says he never lost his faith, in fact believes sight loss has brought him closer to God making him”depend on him for my step,” referring to a Biblical scripture.
Michael says he is now at a point with his art where he is no longer trying to please anyone other than himself. “A lot of this whole process was about me, about me getting to a place, …I probably dragged out some of this just trying to get to a place where I can accept that I am a person trying to deal with sight loss.” Michael says this was ultimately a process that he had to go through, but realized the same motivation he stressed to the children he once visited in schools discussing his art, he had to now apply to himself, “I had to say, c’mon Mike what about what you say, are you a hypocrite,c’mon man, you can do it, …stop complaining about it and do it, don’t quit. And that’s the biggest thing for me, not being a quitter.”
No longer listening to the voice of his art teacher pushing him to focus on the detail, Michael is concerned with concepts and a message.
His creation process is now based on organizing paints and materials using large print labels, technology such as a CCTV which enlarges images, digital cameras that allow him to enlarge pictures using his computer equipped with a screen reader and magnification software.
Books viewed through his CCTV, web sites music or television supplies Michael with ideas, but believing that art is “mental” he looks inward and concentrates on the images in his mind for his creations.
Replacing realism with conceptual, pencils for thick dark markers or sight with technology, Michael continues to create . Incorporating other forms of art including sculpture and photography in addition to his paintings Michael now says he is free, “I now paint for me.”
The experience of Sight Loss has led Michael to his current pursuit, a Masters degree in Visual Rehabilitation Therapy and Orientation and Mobility from Sal us University. “I’m very interested in how a person dealing with sight loss lives, and I want to, I want to help people,” says Bryant.
Excited about the program especially because his wife Gina has also enrolled, Michael understands the challenges the course work and career will present to him as a person with a visual impairment.
Being out of school for many years is just one of the challenges. The online/in class program requires Michael to navigate the web based application that he says presents technical issues that are not easy to resolve.
One of only two students with a visual impairment enrolled in the program, Michael understands the amount of work required to prove he is capable. He believes that he will be judged differently since he is visually impaired. He is prepared to hire driver’s to travel to visit client’s. He believes hiring managers who are sighted and may hold their own stereotypes and prejudices, will require him to be better than his sighted peers. Referring to the challenges of people who are blind and visually impaired in school or in various professions, Michael says”You have to be so much better at what you do just to compete evenly.”
Michael says he is becoming more of a advocate, recognizing when others label people who are blind as unable to do something based solely on the lack of sight. “The hair on the back of my neck rises when I feel somebody trying to throw blind people in this box that[says] you can’t do something.”
The image of Michael, an African American built more like a NFL lineman, with the elder white woman in the elevator , sharing prayer in the middle of a hospital hallway could be a symbol of sight loss. Blindness affects people of all ages, nationalities and gender. The image could also serve as a foreshadowing of events to come in Michael’s life.
Michael initiated and hosts, HOLLA – Helping Other Listen Learn and Acquire, a monthly telephone meet up where members and others share their experiences, thoughts knowledge and sometimes even items.
A founder and board member of MCCB, Michael works continuously to promote the objectives of the council. Whether as the Treasurer, creative designer or any required role, his desire to share his experiences and motivate others is evident.
Creativity is at his core. An avid reader of audio books, most of Michael’s other interests revolve around the process of creation. Music as a trumpet player, building things as a self taught carpenter or working in his garden, it’s all about the art in the end result.
I asked Michael to describe a piece of his art being viewed by someone 100 years from now and describe their reaction and comment. . Whether the piece is a blooming flower or a young bird’s first flight, he wants to convey that he is mindful of rebirth or new beginnings. He admits the piece has not yet been created which is appropriate since he himself is in the midst of his personal transformation.
As in the first part of his life; faith, encouragement from loved ones were important pieces of his life’s portrait. The final stroke of the brush was always his own belief in his abilities. It looks like Michael has everything to begin putting the finishing touches on his latest creation, himself.
For more on Michael’s art visit: Michael Bryant Art
References:
Dear Helen
Do you have questions pertaining to blindness or visual impairments? Ask Helen. Send your questions via email to info@mccbonline.org.
DEAR HELEN,
Now that my vision is growing progressively worse, I worry about how I will continue to do my crocheting, a hobby that I’ve cherished for many years. What can I do? – Concerned in the Poconos
Dear Concerned in the Poconos,
Thank you for your inquiry. To answer your question, this week I met, Brenda Gillis, who is blind from retinitis pigmentosa. Brenda has no sight in her left eye and only light and shadow perception in the right eye and with a little help from a friend, she has taken up crochet. Brenda has made an entire queen size spread for her bedroom. “All I did was ask my friend to record each round for the granny squares I was making onto different tracks on a Cod or voice recorder.” There were many pointers like experiencing with different size hooks, thickness of yarn and practice, practice, practice was all key to hooking on success. “With instructions that I could play and pause, it only took a half dozen granny squares before I was crocheting in my sleep.” The spread is absolutely beautiful and now Brenda is working on a spread for her church auction.
Dear Helen,
I am a nine year old girl with a problem. Up until about a year ago, my father loved to take pictures. He had a love for amateur photography. This love changed the day he lost most of his sight in a car crash. I can remember seeing him after the accident . Although, he could not see well and he had many bruises and broken bones, his favorite camera was smashed. He now spends much of his time being sad. He feels that he can no longer take pictures.
I never thought of the impact that blindness has on the whole family. We want to help him to deal with his loss but it is difficult. I know he has a birthday coming up and I was wondering if it would be wrong of me to suggest that we get him a camera. Is there a camera that blind people can use? Signed, Totally Concerned
Dear Totally,
I am so glad you asked this question, Like your father, I also share the love of photography. First I’d like to commend you on caring so much about your dad’s interest. I agree that loss affects the entire family in many ways. Perhaps it is a good idea for you all to work through it together. There is good news! I do not think that his love for taking photos has to end. There are many Visually impaired photographers as well as many cameras available.
Almost all of the photos taken for the Monroe County Council of the Blind are taken by a visually impaired photographer. He uses a Nikon D70 digital camera. He suggests using a tri-pod to help to keep the camera level so that photos are straight. Also when reviewing the pictures, he attaches the appropriate wire for his camera from the camera to a television in order to get the images large enough for him to see them. Here are a few websites to look at:
- The Blind Photographer
- Guide to Blind Photography
- The Art and Heart of Blind Photographers
- Blind Photographers.org
To answer your question about purchasing a camera, I do not think you would be wrong in suggesting a new camera for him , I think it is a great idea! Maybe he will take some pictures of your lovely smile.
– Helen
Feature: Stories of Perseverance
It might be natural for you to assume that a person who is legally blind couldn’t create any type of art. Well, I have found a few individuals including myself who have different levels of blindness and who were able to achieve their artistic goals and passions. There are organizations and agencies who teach blind people different types of art forms. For example, music, sculpting, and painting, just to name a few. How is this accomplished you ask? Well, there are new technologies that are available to help. Music can be taught using Braille, audio, large print, and hands on training. There are also close-circuit televisions (CCTV’s) to help those with low vision. This tool magnifies an image to up to 64x. There are many more such devices available, but, you get the point.
Here are a few stories about some of our own Monroe County residents who, despite their blindness or low vision, have persevered and continued with their passions.
Mary Ann Alexander began playing guitar at age 12 after having been approached by her education counselor from the New Jersey Commission for the blind and Visually Impaired about an organization that taught blind people musical instruments for free. Her sister had been playing guitar and Mary Ann was very excited to be offered an opportunity to learn as well. Instead of learning to play songs by reading music, she was first taught how to play all of her guitar chords then taught each song a piece at a time and learned by both memory and by ear. By the time she was 16 years old she knew the words and cords to over 200 songs. The organization was a non-profit organization sponsored in large part by the New Jersey Lions and as each student progressed at their instrument, they were given the opportunity to perform at dinner functions for different service organizations and even to travel to national and international conventions. Mary Ann currently sings in her church choir as an alto and as a song leader. She has someone read her the words to songs, puts them in Braille, she learns the melody or harmony by listening, and reads the words as she sings. Sometimes she brings her Victor Stream Recorder to record a particularly difficult part.
Listen to “The River”,for a sample of Mary Ann’s music.
Marvin Simons was a young boy when he found out that he was legally blind. When he was in James Madison High School, he was denied the opportunity to play on the JV football team. Marvin was not going to let it lie. He asked the coach to give him a chance to prove himself. It turned out that Marvin was able to play, but he learned he was better at offense than defense. But this is not what he really wanted to do. He wanted to play music. Unlike today, during the early 1960′s, there wasn’t much in the way of access technology. He had glasses that helped him some, but he still struggled. In the mid 1960′s, he played in the band at Arthur Somers 252 Junior High School in Brooklyn New York. One day Marvin went to see his guidance councilor to discuss what he wanted to do for a living. When he expressed his love for music, his councilor presented him with an opportunity to learn how to play Jazz at the Len Oliver Studio, located in New York City which the state then paid for. This multi-talented musician and song writer plays several instruments such as, the trumpet, keyboard, lead guitar, flugal horn, drums, banjo, and base. He has also studied with some of music’s most renowned Giants, such as guitarist Larry Lawrence Lucy and Trumpeters Jimmy Owens and Jerome Colette, designer of brass instruments, as well as Carmine Caruso, who is well known for his books on how to play brass instruments. When Marvin went to college he used portable tape recorders to help him with his studies. It wasn’t until the 1970′s when he invested in telescopic glasses which magnify distant objects and extended bifocals which he uses to read. Marvin worked with Dr. Roy Cole of the University of Optometric Center for 25 years. Dr. Cole helped Marvin with advice on what types of technology would be useful to him. And at about 6 years ago he got a CCTV.
Currently Marvin plays the guitar for the music ministry of his church, Shawnee Tabernacle in Mt Pocono and he teaches four instruments. He does some of his instruction over the phone. Now how is that for perseverance?
Kathi Jennings crochets blankets for the elderly. She learned how to crochet in the late 1970′s from her mother-in-law. She taught Kath how to crochet patterns from the simple to the intricate. When Kathi began to lose some vision, she was afraid her crocheting days might be over. She saw a low vision doctor who gave her special reading glasses. With these glasses, Kathi is not only able to read, but she has gone back to crocheting. On occasion, Kathi will still crochet a blanket with an intricate pattern, but for the most part, she makes simple ones, which she enjoys doing the most. This young woman did not let sight loss get in the way of her creativity.
In my late teens, my mother began taking ceramic classes and one day I saw a piece that she completed that I really liked and decided that I too would like to make something as pretty. So, mom and I started going together to classes. Well time goes on and peoples taste change and so do their interests. After I was married, I wanted to do something creative that would relax me. This time my mother was learning how to paint in water color and suggested that I take these classes as well. After that, we started taking classes together in every type of medium you could imagine. To name a few, oil painting, polymer clay, art rubber stamping, and beading. Then about 6 years ago I became legally blind. I was no longer able to create art in the same way I used to. But with determination in my heart I fought to find a way to continue. I began using polymer clay to make jewelry. I would transfer images onto the clay and string beads with it. As time went by I found that I could work with sterling silver wire. I took classes in these two mediums and became proficient. Being a member of the Monroe County Council of the Blind I learned about access technology and discovered the CCTV. A CCTV uses a video camera to project a magnified image onto a TV screen. For individuals with visual impairments a CCTV can help you accomplish a lot of daily tasks, such as reading, writing, viewing photos, working crossword puzzles or in my case jewelry making. I now am more confident in my work. I currently use a CCTV, a talking measuring tape and a drill press. These tools have been monumental in my studio. I can now do the things I used to do before my sight loss. And with a little help and encouragement from my family and friends I know that I can do anything I put my mind to. I have a motto, “Never give up, never surrender”.
Tips and Tricks
Submitted by Elida Gares
Did you know that when you are outdoors gardening or just enjoying the nice weather, if you put a Bounce dryer sheet in your pocket it will keep the mosquitoes away?
Measuring vanilla extract for a recipe is easy if you use a regular drinking straw (not the fat ones used for shakes) by dipping it in the bottle twice for most recipes. Once the straw is in the bottle, cap the top of the straw with your finger place the straw over your mixing bowl and release. Much easier than trying to pour it into a teaspoon.
An alternative to bold lined paper: If you have difficulty writing a straight line try this. Use a clip board with plain unlined paper. Place a rubber bands across the paper about two inches down from the tip and then an inch or so down place the second rubber band. You can write a sentence across between the rubber bands. When you want to write the next line you simply take the rubber band on the top and bring it the same distance down below the (now) top rubber band. You can keep alternating the positions and you will be able to write a full page without writing over what has already been written.
If you have difficulty seeing where you are being directed to place your signature and you don’t have a signature guide simply ask someone to fold the paper on the line where you need to sign. Tell them to make the crease so it stands up on the side of the paper you will sign. Making a sharp crease will give the person a clear idea of where to sign.
Events
Monroe County Council of the Blind Bowl-A-Thon
When: October 11, 2009
Where: Sky Lanes, East Stroudsburg
Contact: Caroline McFarlane at (570) 421-4118
Learn more about a in the Poconos on November 6, 2009.
The Monroe County Council of the Blind, for the first time, will host the Pennsylvania Council of the Blind State Convention at the Chateau Resort and Conference Center in Tannersville.
White Cane Day, October 15, 2009
The emergence of the importance of the white cane came as early as 1937 when Gov. Frank Murphy of Michigan signed a bill into law that gave white cane carriers protection while traveling on its streets.
In the1960′s several state agencies and organizations for the blind and visually impaired citizens of the United States urged Congress to proclaim October 15th of every year to be white cane safety day in all 50 states. This event marked a climactic moment in a long campaign of the organized blind movement to gain state as well as national recognition for the white cane.
On October 6, 1964 a joint resolution of the Congress Authorize the President to proclaim October 15th of every year as "White Cane Safety Day".
Stay tuned into www.mccbonline.org for information on this year’s celebration.
The Monroe County Council of the Blind, an affiliate of the Pennsylvania Council of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind, has been formed to respond to social and economic issues effecting visually impaired and blind persons in Monroe County. To learn more about MCCB, we invite you to attend one of our meetings in the Grace Park Community Room, every second Friday of the month from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
We differ, blind and seeing, not in the nature of our handicap, but in the understanding and idealism we put into the art of living. It is only when we put imagination and feeling behind the senses that they attain their full value.
-Helen Keller Speech for the 20th Centrury Club, 1922