A year and a half ago Covid cancelled my in-person work with the Ohio State School for the Blind, and it’s so good to be back again, sitting on my tiny chair at the round table in the art classroom. Through a TeachArts Ohio grant from the Ohio Arts Council in 2020, we were researching the history of the school, presenting and responding to our findings in creative ways. Before the pandemic shut down classrooms, we discovered a lot in the basement, in old school records, and on rarely seen walls— including a framed letter from Helen Keller herself!
While it was disappointing not to have our plans for exhibitions and an open house come to fruition, the pandemic honed our focus on one important thing: documenting the present moment in OSSB’s history. We reached out to staff, faculty, alumni and parents, asking them to share school memories, stories, or even anecdotes about themselves. Students shared OSSB experiences via quilt squares, wrote essays, and created artwork in response to the pandemic. They made self-portrait photographs to share parts of who they are. The result was a self-published book titled This Moment in Time. (have a look and/or purchase here!). A braille and audio version are also in the works.
The most rewarding part of the experience for me was my conversations with students about their artwork and writing, whether in the pre-Covid classroom or via Zoom while we were all at home. Sometimes funny, sometimes solemn—always poignant—our exchanges rarely stayed on the surface but dove into the heart of what were sometimes difficult, emotional topics.
It's an honor to be back via another TeachArts Ohio grant (thank you, OAC!) to resume work on the original concept for this project, creating a timeline of important events in the school's history. We’ll be making a series of display banners using image transfers and collage. Updates to come!
