[Old Notes]

May 11, 2007

Four seasons have passed since I last wrote. My studio work and travels have kept me busy, but I always want to keep my biggest supporters updated on my life.

Think Different. Get a Mac.

I recently bought myself an iMac. As the first-time owner of a product from Apple, I am in awe. This machine is marvelous, and has such powerful tools for my needs as an artist. I have been converting pictures of my artwork from 2x2 color slides into digital format, and with this, I began to see the vast potential of how I could enhance my artwork. I now can use visual effects, motion, and other tools – and I can even create video blogs (vlogs) to express myself in my language, American Sign Language (ASL). Now I can share my thoughts and ideas in my artwork through these videos, enabling you to join me on my journey as an artist into behind my eyes between my deaf ears. I hope to have the vlogs uploaded some time soon.

CSD

In my last note, I mentioned that I am working to do seven commissioned portraits for Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD) in Sioux Falls, SD. The people I am painting, as chosen by CSD, are:

• Laurent Clerc, America’s first Deaf educator teaching deaf people.
• George Veditz, the fourth president of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD); renowned for his speech about the preservation of ASL during the days where oralism prevailed.
• Fred Schreiber, NAD’s first executive director who was a skillful, well-liked politician.
• Robert Davila, the 9th president of Gallaudet University who made history as the first Deaf Hispanic person to hold the highest position ever held by a Deaf person in the U.S. government. Should we name the position?
• Frank Turk, retired educator and administrator most admired for his long-time activities in promoting Deaf youth leadership.
• Rosanne (Roz) Rosen, the new director of the National Center on Deafness at California State University, Northridge; long involved with the World Federation for the Deaf and a former NAD president.
• Benjamin Soukup, the founder and CEO of CSD, and a pioneer in providing human services for Deaf and hard of hearing people in order to have improved quality of life.

The portraits will not be painted in the traditional sense; rather, mixed media and a collage-like approach will be used. Each person will be shown making a sign reflecting their achievements, such as “service” for Soukup, “leadership” for Turk, and so on. Check back here for more updates and perhaps previews of my work on the portraits.

It has been a challenge to find time and money to research each individual, especially when I have to travel. With four completed and three to go, I hope to have this finished by the spring.

Medallions

Another important art commission I had was for the 16th Winter Deaflympics, held in Salt Lake City this February. The Deaflympics board invited me to be involved with a fundraising project, and chose from four sketches. I painted the Double Arch, one of the most attractive arches at the Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. Painted in oil, the 36”x48” gallery-wrap canvas was done on short notice, barely drying in time for shipping to the kickoff at the NAD conference in Palm Desert, CA, last July. The letter that the Deaflympics sent out about my painting stated:

Before I started this artwork, I must admit that I had almost nothing that inspired me. However, as the process took place, and I began working on the art, an amazing thing happened: ideas, thoughts and concepts began appearing in my mind. For instance, I decided to research the moon to see what it'd look like during the Winter Deaflympics. What I learned inspired me to include it in the painting. I also took a solo expedition to the Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. Like everyone else who has been to the park, I was awed by the sacred feelings of the environment and its history. I thought of the very first people to see the arches in the park, the Ute or their ancestors. I wondered about how they perceived the arches and how they lived. Thousands of years have created these inspiring pieces of art.

As a result of that trip, I made a decision. I wanted to show the land that belongs (not belonged) to the Ute first before any other image of perhaps what the Deaflympics looked like, what countries came to participate, and who would be there. The moments that we experience at Deaflympics are a bond among all deaf people, a sacred bond – just like the Double Arch and the other wonders of Utah. I wanted this artwork to reflect concept of us looking up into the universe and know that what we have in our hands cannot be taken for granted.

The kickoff was successful, with 250 framed prints of the original sold for $1,000 each. If you’d like to learn more about purchasing one, please visit 2007 Winter Deaflympics - Official Website.

Tree house

Last summer was a hot one, but the plentiful breezes helped us all stay cool under shade. I set up a long table outside under cedar and oak trees in my back yard, which collected falling dead branches. I trimmed some of them and screwed them into wooden bases, like botanic trees without leaves. I then built a mini-tree house on each tree, which turned out to be a cute project, but nothing dazzling. I suddenly remembered a visit to the Oakland Museum in California during the early 1990s. I was mesmerized by the work of Michael Mitchell, a miniature artist who collected odd rustic objects from junk yards to create whimsy, dream-like art.

That inspired me to go to a craft store and buy miniature grand pianos and place them on the trees. This created for an interesting visual poem, combining elements of childhood and adulthood to provide an escape into an innocent childlike world.

An interesting visual poetry combining elements of childhood and adulthood, it could be either way or both another, looking back as a child or envision when they’d grow up as pianist. It gives metaphorical sense of escaping and playing it in your own world, innocent as a child. To see a photo of these fun works, visit http://www.wallyworkman.com/index.lasso, then click on “Artists” and my name.

Wally Workman Gallery is one of the hottest galleries in Austin, and I was honored to have my work exhibited there. When I went to a reception there, I sat back into the background and observed. The feeling I had that evening was indescribable, and made me feel like I had finally arrived to the point where galleries accepted my work.

Music

I received an e-mail from a deaf man studying fine art, who asked me if there was an advantage in being deaf and having a stronger sense of visual art than artists who can hear. My paraphrased answer was:

My opinion is that we deaf and hearing people have no difference in perceiving things or visual experiences that making one better than another as an artist. I am sorry to say that, but d/Deaf people may have a stronger sense of the visual part; however, they often don't use it for the arts except a very few – perhaps 2 to 5% the deaf population who are serious about making a living as an artist.

Remember we were raised in special education [environments] where we spent more hours on learning and training in communication and literacy [and often did not have art classes like the hearing kids]. I can remember as a little kid, we went to art class only once every week in elementary schools…In the deaf schools, they put us in art classes for possible vocational development into future employment. They didn’t have time to tell us that art has aesthetic feelings in it…

They used to show us how to feel the piano with our hands for the rhythms but they don't do that anymore.... [schools have kept cutting] out art programs, less and less to almost nothing.

During my teen years, I started listening madly to music like rock ‘n’ roll; now, I have lost some hearing as I am getting old but I still listen to the stereo, mostly contemporary jazz and African and Brazilian beats while I work in my studio with my hearing aid on, often feeling inspired and good...I can hear vocal parts with emotions but I can’t understand lyrics. My artworks are not always related to the Deaf theme, though.

There are some De’VIA (Deaf Art Visual Image Art, an art movement in America) artists who sometime explore and express in music as a subject matter. You’ll find it in works of Harry Williams, Uzi Buzgalo, Alex Wilhite, Paul Johnston, myself, and others. Brenda Schertz of Maine who often is chosen as curator for De’VIA exhibits around the country, has analyzed our works and categorized them into four categories. One category is the representation of sound or musical notations visually. There are many reasons why this seems to be a common theme. For me, I don’t regret that I am Deaf, because I find music from inside me, and how I feel and create using visual art. Like Harry Williams with his violins, I use musical notes with colors replacing the keynotes. In the flow from left to right, it gives the sense all together like an overture or something you hear or imagine of a symphony.

Deafness doesn’t mean that you can’t hear the music; you can see it like the sunset. The next step is a tricky question: you’d probably ask if it’s an aesthetic approach, how we lay out a composition with a color scheme, and so forth. Some people will find them very effective, and others won’t. Gallery owners or art critics know the difference. I feel that there is a strong connection between painting and inner music, whether you have experienced hearing it or not.

Caricatures

In April 2006, I attended the second Deaf Studies conference in Salt Lake City. I went there to absorb the new, rich findings within Deaf studies, like a sponge. Deaf studies is one of my favorite areas of interest, especially with the support of Deaf cultural arts as an important part of Deaf studies, from language to history to identity to education. Although I wasn’t an exhibitor like the previous year, I brought a small demonstration of my new discipline: the caricature.

You often see those caricatures drawn upon request on boardwalks or at carnivals. However, I substituted the bodies usually seen in caricatures for hands signing whatever word the subject chose.

So far I have done over 35 people. I have improved and made less mistakes – in other words, I’ve become seasoned at this genre. For most of my career as a painter, I never wanted to be trained or taught as a portrait painter or illustrator, although I’ve done quite a bit of figuration – especially with hands. To draw hands or feet is one of the most challenging tasks, but I’ve enjoyed it. But with the caricature, I’ve really enjoyed evolving from an amateur to a better artist.

I’ve been able to travel to various events and have booths where I take Polaroid snapshots of people’s faces and hands, and mailed them the caricatures.

Drop-in Art

Tim McCarty, the founder of Quest: Art for Everyone, a non-profit agency company (http://www.quest4arts.org/) asked me to lead the drop-in art event at the Sorenson Communication Expo in Salt Lake City last February, during the Deaflympics.

The drop-in art concept was very new. We had a 20’x 20’ space along with many booths in the area, where they could “drop in” to unleash their creativity through various, open-ended arts and crafts materials around the area. It was a great hands-on activity for kids and adult alike. They were able to bring their work home, whether it was a sculpture or any crafts project. They indeed, explored their vision, express themselves, and shared their inner creativity.

Thank you for reading this note. Come back again for the next note.

- Chuck Baird