There is more than one way to see a work of art, according to some members of the Sunshine Coast's White Cane Club.
A few members of the non-profit organization that serves the visually impaired and blind gathered with local potters last week at the Sunshine Coast Art Centre's Doris Crowston Gallery to learn about clay and touch the finished work on display at the Ceramics on the Edge show.
"It opened up our fingers," said club president Bill Conway.
The idea for a visit by the blind grew out of a discussion between the Arts Council's Frances Wasserlein and Conway, when Wasserlein made a presentation about art to the group. She broached the idea to the show's organizers, Betty Keller and Heather Waddell, who agreed to be on hand along with potter Joanne Scanlan to assist the visitors in "seeing" the work on display.
Keller gave a brief demonstration of the different types of clay, from porcelain to paper clay, passing them from hand to hand while the visitors made an impromptu clay creature. One of the visitors, Delphine Fortin, had been a commercial potter much of her life making functional and decorative art in her studio. She still has her eyesight, but after a stroke, she has lost the use of one arm. Holding a heavy lump of sculptural clay she remarked, "I haven't felt this in my hands for seven or eight years."
Her son, Les Westlake, who accompanied her, is also a professional potter and commented that clay is a versatile medium good for letting ideas out.
"Pick up a piece and close your eyes," he said. "On my pottery I always say 'please touch'," he laughed. "I've only had one breakage in all that time."
The potters brought their work to the table so visitors could feel the shapes and textural qualities. One figurine of Scanlan's drew great interest. She explained how her Japanese woman in a kimono was made using a stamp to add texture to the figure's costume and a tool to score the clay for her braided hair.
"The most fun about doing pottery is the feel of it," said Scanlan, who appeared delighted at this opportunity to describe her work to an audience who might not otherwise have the chance to see it.
"The hands-on ceramic concept was a very smart idea," Conway said.
He's had the opportunity to do something similar at an art gallery in Victoria where he was allowed to touch the paintings. He hopes to arrange future encounters with tactile art on the Coast.
Members of the White Cane Club, which is affiliated with the national Canadian Council of the Blind, meet on the second Wednesday of the month at the Davis Bay Community Centre.
