From Abstraction to Tactile Expressions: Images of my Emotions.

Magdalena Rutkowska.

“Always painting, always working” was probably the first few words she said to me during our conversation. Magdalena Rutkowska runs Ike Studio from her home in Northern Ireland. Ike is a name taken from the Hawaiian Huna philosophy, whose first principle is Ike (pronounced ee-kay), meaning “The world is what you think it is”.

 

Sunny Butterfly.
Quilling on Canvas  50 cm x 40 cm

Viewing Magdalena’s artworks, you notice a plethora of works including paintings, crafts, home decor, Office decor and greetings cards. These works have an influence directly from nature, and visually expressed in various designs ranging from national flags all the way to various decorative patterns and abstractions. Interestingly, because of the way Magdalena perceives and executes some of the designs, she sometimes wonders if the images she creates even exists in nature.

Her greatest inspiration is nature, and that greatly influences her use of vibrant and expressive colour ranges. The depictions she works in reveals her dexterity for detail; detail which is even more astonishing when you realize that Magdalena has been totally blind from the age of 6 years. She has no retina in her eyes and though having no sight presents several immense challenges in her life, she is determined to live a life as full and as rich as is possible, exploring her other senses, especially the sense of touch and hearing, to give her this ability.

“These are images of my emotions.” – Magdalena Rutkowska

 

Tree of the Paleozoic 
White paper on black card
18 cm x 30 cm

MaMoMi: How would you describe your emotions in your artworks?

Magdalena Rutkowska: It is a bit difficult to explain how my emotions can be seen as artworks but they are a visual and tactile expression of some of the feelings i experience daily. I perceive a lot of images of flowers and trees and of other nature influences.

Back in Poland where i am originally from, i lived around beautiful forests and this early experience still continues to inspire my love for nature. This influence causes me to see various projects in my sleep, long before i get the opportunity to do anything with them. I often wake up wanting to create so many of these images and my memory and Imagination, combined with my manual skills, allows me to create various types of arts and crafts. I use my visual memory of colours, shades and shapes to put together the different ideas. For me, every letter of the word has a colour code.

“I know my paintings also help a lot of people externalize and overcome their problems.” – Magdalena Rutkowska

Tulip 
20 cm x 25 c m

MaMoMi: How do you relate a colour code to a word or shape?

M.R.: One of the projects i did some time ago was done making small pictures with four paintings of flowers, and the client then came back wanting even bigger paintings. I had to find a way to replicate that idea onto a bigger canvas space.

Every colour i intended to use in that colour palette was placed in a box. I needed to remember where each colour was and to do this, i placed each of them in particular boxes and code every box. I now have at least 20 boxes. I place bright yellow in one box, darker yellow in the next one, warmer colour in the following one, and the next one had fuchsia, and so on.

It is important to me that i remember which colours i have used, and in what order, as this helps me have control of the colour scheme or any pattern i am creating. But this also means i have to keep and maintain a huge level of concentration throughout.

MaMoMi: What is your most used technique?

M.R.: It usually take a lot of time to put together and make my artworks. My most popular technique is the Quilling paper method. By building the outlines of paper, i devise various ways of filling to form the shapes required. This helps me create decorative and 3-Dimensional designs, many of which are popular for Home and Office decor.

I use strips of paper that are rolled, shaped and glued together, and reproduce the needed shapes by twisting and curling the paper strips with my fingers. They are then bonded on the canvas or background cardboard. I have sixteen different categories listed on my website.

Creating these artworks and crafts is also a way of showing people that blind artists can also be very creative, with very attractive and highly desirable items. But it is also my way of engaging with the sighted community and it will be great and appreciative if people can enjoy my creative talents as much as i do. I love nature and in return nature has given me a positive approach to life.

Contact:

To commission or purchase her artworks, contact Magdalena via email at magdalena@ikestudio.co.uk
Website: www.ikestudio.co.uk

Note: This blog was originally published in March 20 2014.

LIGHT, SOUND AND THE ENVIRONMENT: A new Design Museum multisensory tour

The Design Museum have designed a new series of multisensory tours and the first one in the series is scheduled to hold on Saturday 11 July 2015.

This July multisensory tour, titled Light, Sound and the Environment, will explore how light and sound have been used to identify colour, and how we in turn respond to objects and items in the built environment.

The Design Museum continues to offer exhibition tours to its blind and visually impaired visitors, and this multisensory tour gives the opportunity to engage with objects from the museum’s Designs of the Year 2015 and Collection Lab.

Light, Sound and The Environment takes place on Saturday 11 July 2015, at 14:00.

To book on this tour, please call +44 (0)20 7940 8782. You can also view their website for more information at www.designmuseum.org

Tours are available free of charge, including museum entry, for groups of 2 – 6. Please call to discuss any specific needs.
The tours last approximately 1.5 hours and take place in the exhibition space.
Tours must be booked in advance.

Image and information used in collaboration with The Design Museum, London.

Gleamed: Adding The Sparkle To Illustration.

Next Steps

Reading about the work Kimberley does and continues to do, as a columnist, blogger, illustrator and campaigner, you would have no idea she went through a very difficult time in her early years. Kimberley was born premature in Hope Hospital, Greater Manchester and had to be kept in an incubator for some time. At the time, and surprisingly so, no tests were done to test her sight and hearing but her mum knew something was not quite right.

 

By the time the local hospital responded to her mum’s persistent concerns, she was already 4 years old and found to have sight and hearing loss. Eventually, she was referred to Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital by a specialist, where she underwent several operations over the next few years to help resolve the congenital cataracts in both her eyes. She also had myringoplasty performed on both ears to close the perforations in her ear drums.

Now 26, Kimberley is registered blind (totally blind in one eye, is partially sighted in the other) and uses a hearing aid. She continues to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the doctors and nurses at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, where she had spent most of her childhood and she feels she is now finally starting to live her life with her visual impairment.

 

Kimberley is a self-taught illustrator and has aspirations to study fine art at the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford. She was recently named “Young Illustrator of the Year” for 2014 by RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People), creating 6 illustrations that were published in RNIB’s Insight magazine, using themes from “Next Steps” to “Support at the time of Sight loss”. These themes were selected by Insight Magazine’s Editor and Kimberley was then able to create her illustrations around those ideas. The illustrations were created and published between December 2013 and September 2014, and you can see them listed below.    

Next Steps

Theme: “Next Steps“

In this illustration, Kimberley shows her next steps for the future; from completing her braille course, training for a guide dog, continuing her campaign work, to mobility training with her long cane.

Favourite Apps and Features

Theme: “Favourite Apps and Features“

Here, she depicts her iPad and her favourite apps and features, including accessibility functions like zoom, voiceover and iBooks.

 

MaMoMi initiative: How did you keep inspired through your early challenges with sight loss?

Kimberley Burrows: The support of my Mum and my family kept me motivated through the early challenges. I was never treated any differently from my brother or the other children in the house but i really felt i was treated with more compassion and respect because of everything i was going through. I was never pitied because of all the operations i had to go through in my childhood. I was praised for being so strong and brave but never had any special treatment so that really helped me adjust and feel like the other children.

 

Preparing for Adult Life

Theme: “Preparing for Adult life“

This illustration was created using coloured pencils and a fine liner, portraying her as a teenager in her high school uniform, looking towards a future in adult life. 

 

MI: Was there any point where you felt you will not be able to pursue any career?

KB: Towards the end of high school, i developed a severe depression and anxiety because of the realisation that i was spending so much of my time in hospital, and it felt lie i was been robbed of the enjoyment of being a child. I found it hard to be sociable because of my visual impairment, especially when my vision began to diminish even more. After l left college, i certainly felt i would not be able to pursue a career, more because of my own insecurities than my vision impairment itself. I didn’t feel comfortable about who i was and needed time to accept myself and my disability before others could do the same.

 

Find the ability in your disability to follow your dreams” – Kimberley Burrows

 

Outdoor sports and activities

Theme: “Outdoor sports and activities“

Here, she depicts her character riding a bike surrounded by an archery board, football and net, cricket bat with ball and wicket, and a racket with a tennis ball and shuttlecock.

 

MI: How did you get involved in art and what would you like to share with the world that can inspire another person with a disability?

KB: I have loved art all of my life. I remember the first thing i did when entering the first year of primary school was going straight to the easel and painting a vase of flowers! That was one of my earliest memories. Since then, it has always been a creative outlet for me to draw my emotions and my experiences, and then translate that into colourful imagery. When i had my operations at Great Ormond street Children’s hospital in London, a city far away from home, the only thing that would stop me from feeling home sick was when i would draw.

 

I want to inspire and encourage anyone with a disability to “find the ability in your disability to follow your dreams!” Get the inspiration to keep doing what you love to do, even when you are experiencing difficulty at the time! That is how your dreams will come to reality.

Support at the time of sight loss

Theme: “Support at the time of sight loss“

This illustration was a reference to the support she received from friends and family, her doctors and other medical officers and information she received online and via the internet. This was done using black fineliner and colouring pencils.

MI: What are your favourite pieces?

KB: My favourite paintings and illustrations are my Carousel GCSE piece, the Christmas card for Henshaws, the illustrated Guide Dog for the Get Active! supplement in conjunction with the Scouts magazine, the Paddington Bear illustration, and the John Lewis birthday composition.

My achievements in the past year

Theme: “My achievements in the past year“

This includes Kimberley’s interview with Grenada Reports, her interview with Manchester Evening News, her artwork for John Lewis, and her planned visit to the European Parliament in November.

In addition to her achievements in the past year, Kimberley has recently been matched to her Guide dog, Tami, which will give her a greater sense of independence. Once her training with the Guide dog is completed, she plans to further her education and achieve more qualifications.

 Get the inspiration to keep doing what you love to do.” – Kimberley Burrows

What we find really remarkable about Kimberley’s illustrations is the tenacity she has to get through the artworks; due to the strain the drawings place on her seeing eye (she is completely blind in one eye and can only focus for a few minutes at a time with the other), she can only work on the her pieces for around 20 minutes at a time. This means some of her illustrations can take up to one month to finish!

Kimberley’s dreams of turning her creative passion into a career may well be realized very soon as she has been commissioned to create a special drawing of Paddington bear for the creator, Michael Bond.

Well done Kimberley, continue to add the sparkle to illustration!

Special appreciation: We want to take this opportunity to thank Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, Hope Hospital, RNIB, Insight Magazine, and Henshaws.

Contact:

To contact Kimberley, email her at gleamed@hellokitty.com. You can also visit her blog page at Gleamed ✿ Kimberley’s Blog

GLEAMED: Kimberley’s blog

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Feel the Force Day 2014 | The Accessibility Event |

About

Feel The Force Day, Co-founded by JJ Lucia-Wright, is the world’s only film and TV conventions designed for visually impaired people, disabled people and people with learning difficulties.

Description

Feel the Force Day is an accessible film and TV event designed for visually impaired and disabled people.

Their first event, held in Peterborough in October 2013, attracted over 400 people and was the first of its kind, in the World, EVER! They continue to build their audience and had more attractions in a bigger venue for the 2014 event, Feel the Force Day: Access All Areas, which recently held on the 18th of this month. Star Wars actor Warwick Davis was among more than 2,000 people to attend the film and television fans’ convention. See the event featured in national media below.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-29680521

Star Wars explained in touch and smell in Peterborough Event. BBC News Cambridgeshire

Each event typically includes tactile costumes, props, vehicles, TV and film related smell jars plus a few new and original ideas at each event. This year saw a remarkable turnout. See more from national media publication below.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29688092#?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Accessible Star Wars lets disabled Feel the Force. BBC News

Feel The Force Days encourages a fun and friendly atmosphere, so whatever your disability, get in touch and come along – carers, support workers and communication assistants will always have free entry.

 

A Star Wars sci-fi convention has been set up for people with disabilities. CBBC Newsround

Accessible Star Wars lets disabled people feel the force. CBBC Newsround

The 2015 event is already getting booked so check the link below for more information on booking and to contact the Feel The Force Day Team.

Book your tickets for the 2015 event, Feel the Force Day: Part III, booked for Saturday 10th of October 2015 at KingsGate Conference Centre, via this link:

http://www.feeltheforceday.com/get-tickets/

Contacts

Feel The Force http://www.feeltheforceday.com/

1st Sensory Legion http://www.1stsensorylegion.com

All information used permission 1st Sensory Legion, for Feel The Force Day 2014. Copyright 2014

EXPLORING ACCESS.

EXPLORING ACCESS.
Access at the Design Museum: July 2014.

The Access programme at the Design Museum offers its blind, visually impaired and deaf visitors the opportunity to explore the museum’s permanent collection or special exhibitions with highly skilled museum educators, providing detailed and engaging experience of the works on display. The Design Museum is the world’s leading museum devoted to contemporary architecture and design, pioneering new thinking in design through its programme of exhibitions, events and learning projects.

DESIGNS OF THE YEAR 2014.
Closes on 25th of August.

DESIGNS OF THE YEAR 2014 is an exhibition that offers viewers the opportunity to review the last year in Design. Celebrating the very best across seven design disciplines, nominees were placed in categories ranging from Architecture, Product, Fashion, Furniture, Graphics, Digital and Transport. On show are items like the CHILD CHEMO HOUSE, KOBE in the Architecture category, through to the XL1 CAR designed by Volkswagen in the Transport category. Within these are a variety of objects and products to learn about and be fascinated by.

“These show the best of design, from initiatives in technology or materials to design that helps make life easier, safer or more stimulating. Which is your favourite nominee?” – Gemma Curtin, Curator, DESIGNS OF THE YEAR 2014.

The show is displayed on the second floor of the museum and there is easy access for wheelchair users via a lift that takes you from the ground floor. You travel through various themes like Care, Situation, Delight, Thought and Connect, with a clear view of the display and various items that can be touched.

For this publication, we will take a brief look at just a few items on display.

CLEVER CAPS –

Designed by Claudio Patrick Vollers (Co-inventor & Designer) and Henry Suzuki (Co-inventor)

“Clever Caps are bottle caps which also work as building blocks. They can be collected and used on their own, but are also compatible with the world’s most popular building blocks. In this first commercial version, they were designed to fit PCO 1881 standard bottle necks, and include a tamper evident safety seal.” – Design Museum.

The Clever caps is fun, movable, changeable and adaptable. I see the younger visitors really enjoying this product.

THE SEABOARD GRAND –

Designed by Roland Lamb and Hong-Yeul Eom

“The Seaboard is a reinvention of the piano keyboard, re-imagining the keys as soft waves that enable continuous and discrete real-time, tactile control of sound through three-dimensional hand gestures. The design combines contemporary minimalism and traditional handcrafted quality.” – Design Museum.

I like this one particularly because of its multisensory feature, as you play the keys through soft, silicone surface and can hear the sound through several headphones. This redesign of the piano allows a more intuitive control of the sound experience.

XL1 CAR –

Designed by Volkswagen

“The Volkswagen XL1 becomes the world’s the most efficient liquid-fueled production car with an official combined cycle figure of 0.9 l/100 km (313 mpg) and an aerodynamic drag coefficient of 0.189. It requires only 8.4 PS to sustain a constant 100kph on a level surface in still air, a speed the car can reach from rest in 12.7 seconds.” – Design Museum.

The smooth curvaceous form and sleek lines around this car, and its aerodynamic shape, helps reduce drag and is equally good looking.

THE NEW CREMATORIUM AT THE WOODLAND CEMETERY –

Designed by Johan Cesling

“Built on an undulating terrain in a wild wood section of the Woodland Cemetery, the New Crematorium features exposed white concrete and white glazed bricks in a building which is at once robust and sensitive.” – Design Museum.

The organic features of this product lends itself to greater exploration. The colour and texture of the brick used matches the building materials.

PAUL SMITH SHOP FACADE –

Designed by 6a Architects.

“The cast iron used for this facade references London street furniture and creates a sharp contrast to the neighbouring Georgian townhouses. A sinuous pattern of interlocking circles puts an abstract spin on a classic Regency shape, while curved windows nod to the glass in nearby arcades.” – Design Museum.

Hidden in the facade is a Paul Smith drawing cast in the surface. This facade uses cast iron, a material with great thermic values.

Booking a tour:

To book a touch tour of this exhibition, please contact the access team via email at access@designmuseum.org or telephone 020 7148 6883.

View the Design Museum website at www.designmuseum.org

Next month, we will be reviewing LOUIS KHAN: THE POWER OF ARCHITECTURE, currently showing at the Design Museum.

 

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Seeing with the Voice of Joy. 6th, August 2013

Ranveig on a tour of a building. Image copyright © MaMoMi initiative 2012.

Choosing to mentor anyone takes a fair amount of belief in oneself and it

is remarkable that Ranveig Bredesen feels the need to inspire or guide

other people. In her words, she says “it is important to share role-model

experiences.”

 

Ranveig has never had any sight as she was born totally blind. I met her in

July 2012 when she visited London from Norway, and requested a tour to a

Museum.  In Oslo, where Ranveig is from, there are quite a few blind people

gathered in small communities around town, while others live more solitary.

Her perception is that blind people often are viewed as pretty regular folk but

there is sometimes quite a bit of fuss the first time a sighted person meets a

blind person. Well, at least that is what she has observed.

 

People’s fears.

 

Many people are often afraid of asking questions, worried that they would

 

overstep some boundaries. On the other, many people believe that blind

 

people are super-human but strangely behave differently when she started

 

walking with a guide dog. While walking with a cane, many people

 

would previously react by asking “do you need any help?” but now

 

with a guide dog, people just keep their distance.

 

 

As Ranveig says, “I think it is for two reasons.

 

1. people perceive blind people with guide dogs as very independent and very

 

good at managing on their own.

 

2. they are afraid of disturbing the work of the user and the dog, and don’t

 

know how to approach.

 

Interestingly, there is also the question of how visually impaired or blind

people view sighted people. Ranveig asks, “Is there an expectation for

to be our helpers and servants, or are we expecting them to simply be our

friends? (or hopefully, something in between).”

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“If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.” – William Blake

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Identifying things and Moving around.

When asked how she perceives things, Ranveig says she uses her hearing quite

a bit, listening to how cars, people and other objects are moving, as this tells

a lot about the room and space. With tactile process of feeling walls and

doorways with her hands, and the ground using a cane, she can feel the

difference between stone, grass, carpet and other surfaces. The angular

terrain of fields helps her identify hills and steps, although that becomes a

little difficult after a snowfall or severe weather.

 

She has also found ways to label her household items,e.g. by fastening a small

transparent piece of tape, cut in a specific shape, on the back of her mobile

phone or on her mobile phone charger. She also uses tape or hairbands to show

a difference between her hair shampoo and hair conditioner. “I could make

three tiny cuts at the shaft of my rubber-boot (not visible to others), or use

a small file to make small marks at the bottom of reusable plastic cups.”

 

Her Inspirations.

 

Ranveig is inspired when she meets older blind people living an independent life

 

as she gets to learn from their experiences, and even learn from their failures.

 

This encourages her of the possibility of her own independence. “It also

 

encourages me when my actions can help other blind people ‘move forward'”,

 

she says with a smile.

 

 

She recounts a time when the school she studied at did not

 

remember much about how to manage incoming blind students. She had

 

to write them to tell them what to do. Since then, another blind friend who

 

started at school and went into the school system without any problems.

 

They now know how to order her books and with her learning needs.

 

Tips for success.

When asked what her best tips for her success so far, she says “Just ask for

help when you need it. Also, try helping others with the experience you have.

Remember, No question is stupid. Also, find a place where you feel secure

enough to let your guard down, a place where you can cry if you need to.

When the sorrow of a situation is gone, learn from any mistakes, even laugh

at them, and think how you can do things differently next time. If a failure

comes (and it will at some point), think of how well you solved it, once you

resolve it!”

 

Ranveig says it is a good thing to “be honest about your challenges, but also

see the opportunities that may lie within those challenges.” She knows that

getting lost can be a very discouraging experience for any blind person,

when you make the effort to know a new area. Interestingly, she has found

that asking people for help can also lead to new lasting friendships.

 

On the question of her goals and objectives for the future, foremost on her

mind is finishing her masters degree, and equally important is that she

remains in a position where she can continue to inspire others and live her

life as well as she can.

 

Seeing with the voice of joy is a positive outlook to life, one more of us

may need.

So, why Touch the Art then? 15th May 2013

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“The pressure of the hands causes the springs of life to flow.” – Tokujiro Namikoshi

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Museums are an incredibly engaging environment to spend time in,

whether you are a young student on a school trip, an art student,

a tourist, a parent on a fun day-out with the kids, a tourist, or a

company executive taking time on lunch to unwind, there is always

something to either engage, inspire, amuse or challenge you.

But what kind of engagement can you expect to experience, or

is available to you, if you are a visually impaired or blind visitor?

The beauty of Modern and contemporary art is its relevance to us,

in the here and now, transcending traditional art and a precursor

of conceptual art. Conceptual art in itself is an art type borne out

of ideas, where the visual appearance of the work of art is not an

essential point, often times taking a secondary, probably even

less important significance.

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“Often the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain.” – Carl G. Jung

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Touch is one of the 5 senses (which includes sight, hearing, smell

and taste) and while the other senses are located in specific parts

of the body,the sense of touch is found all over the body. The

things we physically come into contact with pass a wide range

of information about their physical characteristics and it is this

information and message that registers in our brain, originating

from the nerve endings on the body via the spinal cord to the brain.

The Somatic sensory system is responsible for our sense of touch

and the  most common receptors in the body are heat, cold, pain and

pressure, and the hands and finger-tips are the most sensitive areas

of our body. The exploratory or inquisitive kind of touch experienced

through this tactile process helps us learn about the world around us.

From the moment we walk into a space, our sense of touch gathers

millions of fragments of information from the surrounding area, from

the cold metal door handle, the hard desk, the soft coat, the hot

coffee, the wet kiss from the dog’s nose, the rough living-room rug,

the smooth table top, and the temperature, texture, weight and sense

of weight of the other objects we come in contact with.

This amazing daily journey, receiving a constant train of

communication from our sense receptors to the brain, is a

natural process that helps us make associations with our

surroundings, and one that is utilized to give the visually

impaired and blind visitor an experience of artworks

in Museums.

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“Hands are the heart’s landscape” – Pope John Paul II

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The Touch tours program in most Museums use this valuable process

to engage with the artworks. Touch does not replicate nor does it

give the same visual perception as the sense of sight but it does

provide a platform where the visualization process of mind-mapping

and mental imagery can be exploited by the visually impaired and

blind visitor, ultimately supporting a greater exploration and

understanding of the characteristics of the objects and works of

art before them.

Touching the art does not only allow the visually impaired and blind

access to artworks but it also encourages new lines of conversation,

dialogue and discussions between the visually impaired and blind,

other interest groups and the art world in general.

Poll: What sculpture would you most want to touch?

Finally, it is worth mentioning that Museums and art galleries are

continually pushing the boundaries and developing new ways of

exploring the varied range of Modern and contemporary art, without

compromising the health and life of the works of art. Curators, art

educators, other museum staff and the viewing public all have a

responsibility to preserve and conserve these valuable works for

generations to come. Museums have guidelines in place to protect

the touchable collection in Museums from damage during these tours,

and you can read my article,

Developing touch tours, which looks at best practice in balancing

access needs and conservation.

I guess the growing challenge is to find more ways to engage

conceptual art, so that these ideas-based art type can also be

shared with and explored by the visually impaired and blind visitors

to Museums.