Topics

1.  Child's hand - an adult's mind reporting!  This is
    what it is like to be asking inexperienced blind 
    "sketchers" to tell us what is happening as they try to
    draw for the first time.

2.  Betty, a teenager from Toronto, reported drawing
    being satisfactory, despite being blind.

3.  Millar recommends teaching the blind to draw.

4.  Pat drew duck's feet successfully.

5.  So - with these influences, a study was initiated with
    blind adults from BOOST, asking them to draw.

    A.  First, drawing a hand - 4 drew "single-line" digits
        and 9 drew digits by lines showing occluding bounds.

    B.  Second, digits overlapping, like an X.
        Most drew an X, or in "X-ray style" if they drew
        occluding bounds.  To show which digit is "on
        top" - 5 said "not sure how to do this", and 4
        had some discussion, which lead Dee, May & Ray 
        to leave out the occluded lines.  (Ann too, but she
        is late blind, and experienced with pictures).

6.  A container - a glass:  3 said "there's more than one 
    way" at the outset and 5 eventually drew the glass in 
    more than one way.  Note especially

    Ray - lines thinning to show receding surfaces

    Joan - leaving out a line at the top of the glass to 
    show the brim surrounds an opening.

    Dee - drew a flat base.  In a second drawing she 
    added an ellipse at the top to show the roundedness.

    Lys - initially drew a wavy line for the front of the 
    glass, and no sides.  On request, she drew the sides 
    (occluding bounds).

    Note - Josiane Carson-Pargue describes analysis into
    parts, with individual shapes, as "distintegration", and
    showing some parts more completely as "emphasis".

    Pau, Pat and May - provided CURVED sides, and a 
    flat base.  This is like a pun - one shape showing two 
    things.

    Note: - the use of L junctions at the base of the glass.

7A.  Boost - continued - Table drawins. (N.B. a table is in 
     3-D; a picture is 2-D but has "multidimensional"
     possibilities e.g. the diagonal could be given a special
     use).

     Dot, Ray - drew a table in more than one way and
     mentioned a vantage point.

     Also 4 drew an inverted U shape.

     Also more than one drew a rectangle with 4
     appendages near the corners (which can be a product
     of 2 systems, one with no vantage point, or as in Ray's 
     case, with a vantage point).

 B.  Completing a trapezoid or rhomboid.  Most said this
     table top is an odd shape.  Ray took it be a product of
     "how it looks".

     The principles evident are SHAPE SIMILARITY, CONNECTIONS
     AT PROPER JUNCTIONS, OUTLINE - but not ANGLES being
     preserved across junctions, or being governed by
     vantage point effects.

8.   Volunteered drawings: 8 Ss: bath tub Lys, includes 
     CONCAVE CORNER), dog (Joan, principle evident
     that SOME REFERENTS are above a BAR or
     CRITERION FOR SATISFACTION), princess at 
     wheel (Pat, showing 2 principles - stick figure person,
     and LINE OF MOTION).

9.   TRACY (N.Y.):  Principles evident includes - "Units"
     for Mickey Mouse.  Stereotypical drawings
     (repeatable).  Comments indicate CYCLIC procedure
     i.e. execute - compare - revise execution-practice.

10.  Heller - other recognizable drawings.

11.  Pring - highly recognizable drawins from Sally
     (London, U.K.)

12.  Katz - some highly recognizable drawins, despite 
     remarkably unfavourable comments from Katz.

13.  Wally used "teach by rote" techniques, but 
     informally he reports the blind can draw before
     he teaches them.  His drawins are often
     technical, excellent.

14.  Millar - blind children (U.K.) can draw successfully.

15.  Overall - drawins by the blind show a definite,
     recognizable form, at what one might informally call
     an "intermediate" level at times, and many similarities
     with young sighted children at times (e.g. perhaps 4-5
     year olds).  An occasional blind person draws like a 7-
     8 year old.  A few blind people show a level of skill 
     that may rival most ordinary sighted adults.

    
 

This page was designed and is maintained by William Barek, CITD - Bladen Library.
E-mail: barek@macpost.scar.utoronto.ca