COLLECTION:
“Veditz’s Dream Tree”
Painting
30 x 40 canvas, acrylic painting
George W. Veditz was a leader in Deaf community. He had a famous quote that “As long we have Deaf people on earth and we will have sign language.”
He fought to have a preservation of sign language on his dream tree with growing hand leaves.. Hands upward to the sky and downward to the earth along with planted seeds with eyes for deaf babies s rights to have ASL. Flowers states and his hobbies of red dahlias and chickens. We will have sign language forever.
Right side is dawn coming up where He was born in Maryland and attended to MSD. MSD is far right beyond the Frederick hills and in downtown with spiral spikes on churches and a temple on Church Street. Left side, Sunset down and nighttime with moon; He lived in Colorado till he died. Surrounding round the gods of rock and camels kiss pike.
“Intersectional American Deafhood”
Ceramics
ceramics tiles, sculpture hand, glazes, size circle 22"
The hand sculpture is “America” in American Sign Language. Along with dark blue glass beads represents a diversity of Deaf babies that are born every day. We are Deaf American with intersectionality included genders, races, ethnicity, religious belief, sexual orientation, age, ability, and socioeconomic status. And plus our deaf identity in the complex web of identities along deaf parents, hearing parents, siblings, relatives, and going on.
The sun hands acknowledged the diversity of Deaf people in America have their own identities. We are proud to be stand under bright sun. Let sun shines on us.
“Rainbow Handtree”
Ceramics
ceramics tiles, sculpture hand, glazes, size circle 22"
The white heart shaped in the tree represents love of natural sign language. The base of tree is the hands round the trunk symbolize the ground of the earth and a diversity of Deaf babies hat born every day. The Rainbow colors on HandTree is about Indian Legend. It is about colors were fought which is best. Each color has its own personality till Rain made them together and they can live together in peace.
“Veditz Tile”
Ceramic
Ceramics 7"x7" Tile Portrait of George W. Veditz. He hailed from Maryland School for the Deaf and showed State flowers - Black Eye Susan
“Shadow ASL Storytelling”
Painting
Oil Painting 16"x20"
We the Deaf People learn from the best signing models round ASL storytelling would pass the same stories onto Deaf Children. In the playgrounds, bathrooms, school bus rides and bedtimes, we would hide, to tell stories, round any corners, all learning so much from each other. We would reunite the sign language to bring no oppression, prosperity, and unity to the Deaf community
Symbolism in the painting
Shadow Figures= Master ASL storyteller. They have hearts in their heads that they have big hearts to tell storytelling in sign language. We are thankful.
Blue hands and figures= the characters in the stories became more lively from ASL storytelling.
Butterfly = Deaf People have no more oppression from oralism days and carry on to reunite the sign language spirits with prosperity and unity to the Deaf Community. This motif is in De’ VIA work appears in my Deafhood art.
Butterfly Tail Goldfish= the fishes do not have voices and hearing. Metaphor of Deaf storytellers gives vibrant beautiful stories in sign language.
Sun=we always gravitate toward ASL storytellers as the sun’s elements of warm, hope, and happy at the home unite in the Deaf community.
Peacock= Peafowl erect their feathers with eyespots that draw Deaf artists to connect for De’VIA motif.
Tree= Deaf People without the knowledge of culture and sign language is like a tree without roots. (By Ellen’s quote adapted from one of tree quotes)
There are Deaf jokes and Deaf humors in the sign language culture. One of the popular deaf jokes is about Lumberjack who chopped all day and would yell timber… In the Deaf humor, If you try to interpret the joke to non-signers and they don’t understand what is funny while signers will laugh so hard because the scope of visual language. Many Deaf artists used tree for De’ VIA motif.
Bald Eagle Feather= A lumbee legend, Great Spirits had a favorite creature that is Bald Eagle. A bird has only 2 eggs, and all living things are divided into two. Man and Woman, That is true with animals, birds, trees and that goes on. All things have children of 2 kinds so that life may continue. Human has two eyes, two hands, two feet and he has a body and soul, substance and shadow. ..
Secondly, it represents to the story of Ghost Dance in the Native American legend. It inspires me that the Sitting Bull of Arapaho tribe leads the Dance ceremony to have instilled hope, that people might be renewed, and their spiritual fires lit once again. In the according to US of the oralism survivors shall carry on with our storytelling in sign language to give our mainstreamed deaf children.
“Stone face in the End of the Summer”
Painting
A deaf child has repeated the abused cycles of learn to listen and speak in the deaf oralism schools or mainstreamed schools when summers end. Every summer, Deaf children are happy to swimming in the lakes, rivers, pools, oceans, etc.. enjoy to be in the water and swim free (reflections of blue, yellow and white from sunlights in the water).. do not need to worry about LSL lessons and feel natural (fish on eye ear mouth) as fishes in the water. when the summer seasons are nearly over.. (black clouds and black circles as devices attack at child) takes over deaf child we the deaf children are hooked to be bullied all over again.
“How Am I Supposed to Live Without ASL”
Medium unknown
New version of “How am I supposed to live without ASL”, Ceramics Tile, 2013
In honor of Chuck Baird’s home state, Kansas and the celebration of his talented, artistic life. Each work has a different background and colors for flowers (i.e. one with swirls like Van Gogh’s painting. Only 3 of this version works.)