Art Meets Eyes, Hands & Hearts

Art is a way to STAND for what matters. If you hear, and you've ever marvelled at Marlee Matlin's talent and expression as she communicates in ASL, it may shock you to learn that the language and civil rights of Deaf people are under worse attack at the policy, practice and community levels of America today, than they have been for more than a century. This invisible war waged against people with a culture of strength, self-determination, linguistic, artistic and cultural traditions that are as distinct as any other indigenious culture is deliberately hidden, experienced in a parallel world of continued oppression which the mainstream media refuses to touch. Most Americans are unaware that active efforts by the medical and educational professions to force "cures" and oral education, suppress use of American Sign Language and functionally deny the existence and civil liberties of the Deaf still happens today, in every state of the US! How can it be? It is a direct outgrowth of the views and practices espoused by the misogynist father of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, who despite a Deaf mother and Deaf wife wrote diatribes endorsing eugenics toward Deaf people. Shocking isn't it? We have our very own Hitler, whose poison through an oral "speaking and listening only" educational agenda marginalizes ASL, manipulates vulnerable parents towards infant implantation with cochlear devices, and still places Deaf children today at the active risk of having their hands slapped, held, or being otherwise punished and demeaned for doing the most natural thing ALL children do to communicate: use facial and manual movements. Ironic that we proffer baby sign to hearing families because it enhances cognition and accelerates language skills, while denying the further use of ASL to Deaf children throughout their education.
So why the picture above? In Deaf community, there is a process of coming to understand one's communication difference as an identity of affiliation with a shared culture and struggle, "the People of the Eye"! Deafhood is the transition from seeing ourselves as lacking hearing, to seeing ourselves as constitutionally different, Deaf with all the visual and tactile communication which flows from this fountain. It is not hard for visual artists, actors, dancers and other performers to recognize the point of view on life which blooms from eyes, hands and heart, expressing one's deepest visceral experience. Please check out the blog of artist/activist Patti Durr, a professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, whose efforts to raise cultural awareness of Deafhood emphasize the rich legacy of Deaf culture and art. She shares about foundational Deaf artist, Betty G. Miller who is featured along with Susan Dupor in Emily Steinberg’s film “Paint it Loud” http://deaftv.bigcartel.com/product/paint-it-loud. I can't wait to see it.

Another wonderful link is Chuck Baird Foundation's gallery page with art by Sara Roybal, who was Deafened by Meniere's as I was. http://chuckbairdfoundation.org/?portfolio_item=sara-roybal-painter
As an art therapist, I can't help but notice we both make reference to the theme of immersion in water. The body knows when it paints, and this truth pours out. Deafhood for me is about no longer forcing my body to fit something it can't do anymore, HEAR. So still, why the picture above?

I am in a new place because of ASL which has fed the thirsty soul, like finding a waterfall of communication after Meniere's exiled me from the country of Hearing. I'm a dizzy Deafugee who oddly returns home to the visual and haptic world of The People of the Eye. I first felt it sitting on the floor of Washington School for the Deaf after a week with voices-off, signing only, while my hearing was half gone. At the end of a week of immersion in silent language, I sat huddled, confused because it felt...like home...and I was without a way to comprehend why. Art is so telling. Hands are for helping, communicating, creating what the heart must show, that ASL is visual music of hands, eyes and heart to me now. If so powerful to me, a Late Deafened arrival, how much more so for Deaf children! Liberty and recognition of civil rights for the current and coming generations of Deaf children is not negotiable. Can Deaf and Hearing STAND together against the lense of denigration or deficit, "audism", and for acknowledgement of ASL which shows that Deaf Americans are creative and competent citizens who as much as any others deserve what our constitution promises: "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?" As we say in Deaf community, "What do you think?"

Art meets Vows

When you're ready to make your vows, why not make your rings? There are many methods available: jewelry artists who are trained as design jewelers can help when you have a theme in your heart even if you can't draw or picture the rings. This is not rocket science, it's applied art and craftsmanship! The key is finding jewelers who listen well (not coerce you into pre-existing patterns), who design, and who have experience using a variety of metalsmithing techniques. You want help to customize this visual story about your relationship. What you're looking for is to explore metal and stones beyond the typical diamond wedding set mentality. This is where a design jeweler can help you have the same comfort you would insist on if you were going to wear a second skin. It matters! Don't just go to the mall!

The bride and groom's family wanted to honor their determined relationship of 10 years by gathering family heirlooms to recycle the metal and stones, as well as the history behind them. The groom's ring features inlaid mokume gane, a Japanese technique of married metals, set in 18 karat white gold. Mokume gane is an exceptional delight to the eye, offering effects similar to woodgrain, or the play of ripples on water. It is also quite a statement about one metal next to another: contrast can be dramatic or subtle, depending on the metals used. (Not a bad metaphor for people getting married). We found special stock at Reactive Metals which suited the groom's purposes. He was guided through the construction of his ring from carving the wax for a lost wax vacuum casting, to soldering the inlay of mokume gane in place before final polishing of his sleek and very individual ring.

The bride had a deep connection to her great grandmother's 6 karat lavendar star sapphire. A high cut cabachon, it was originally set in a classic princess Di style surrounded with diamond pave. The ring went through a second incarnation when it was redesigned in 18 k yellow gold, highly architectural shape with channel set diamonds. For her own turn, the bride yearned for something organic, fluid, and graceful, with an Art Nouveau feel but strength that would still balance the considerable weight of the high stone to reduce rolling on her finger. She was leery of prongs due to activity and opted for a gypsy setting to afford protection and add to the fluidity of the design. Her sketches suggested floral stems and leaves which were loosely interpreted in white gold.


1. rough cast 18 karat white gold mounting






2. cleaned up casting with side mounted diamonds

















3. and the final center stone set and polished!

The rings figured prominantly in the overall handmade nature of this wedding. But best of all, the process of making them was as important as the symbols. If you are in the Pacific Northwest, and have not yet met Tim Green of Timothy W. Green Jewelers and Jo Gentry Haemer of Gentry Goldsmithing, check out their classes for design jewelery instruction extraordinaire. Care about the process, and enjoy the product even more. If we make vows, why not also invoke these promises as we marry intentions in the metal? Art, like relationships, is not just a thing, it IS a way. What could be a more wonderful way to celebrate a marriage?