Artists

Charles Blackwell
Berkeley, CA
”From The Voice Of The Village, Jazz”
3rd place, 2 dimensional (ink on paper)
… I continue to experiment with and discover other media and forms of expression… and this is the spirit that informs my art today.

Abe Brown
Brooklyn, NY
”Green Mountains” (acrylic painting)
Abe photographs scenic landscapes and then paints from his photographs. By slightly altering the palette and composition, he imbues the landscapes with an artistic sense of balance.

John Caperton, Jr.
Albuquerque, NM
”High Winds” Honorable mention, 2 dimensional, (painting)
Macular Degeneration redirected John’s style of art to a more abstract method. He paints small watercolors with the aid of a closed circuit television reader.

Betsy Clayton
Dresher, PA
”The Dancers” (clay sculpture)
Despite Betsy’s imagination and eagerness to try new techniques, she is fulfilled when working in clay. It’s the one place I want to be.

William Cody
Eureka, CA
”The Explanation” (color photography)
What excites me is recording images of people doing the things they do everyday in a unconscious way… I try to catch a little bit of the subject’s soul and preserve a moment in time.

Christine Conko
Monrovia, MD
”Summer Beach” (acrylic on canvas)
After an eight-month coma, Christine had to relearn the basics of everyday living… One thing she did not have to relearn was the ability to create art.

Martha Cowden
Dayton, OH
”Out & About” Honorable mention, 3 dimensional (clay and fiber)
”Over & Above” (clay and fiber)
Martha combines fiber coiling with hand built pottery, a Native American basketry technique, in her pieces. Fibers used in both her pottery and wall hangings are handspun.

Lavera Diggins
Philadelphia, PA
”Parade Of Torsos” (clay)
I began my art career at the age of fifty, enrolling in the Form in Art class at the Philadelphia Museum of Art… I thank God for allowing me to be creative in my artwork and thank all of my instructors for their support.

Kathy Faul
Swarthmore, PA
”Raven” (sculpture)
In the pursuit of finding and sharing truth, joy, and love, blindness has been my greatest teacher. The gift of inner vision is one that I wish to share with others through form and sculpture.

Janice Frishkopf
Belmont, MA
”Turtle Deco” (colored pencil; ink)
Inspired by nature, Janice renders nature motifs in colored pencil and ink. She combines shape elements to communicate certain feelings or specific emotions.

Carmelo Gannello
Oak Park, IL
”Leaking (Hole In Retina)”, (conte drawing on vellum)
Carmelo is known for his paintings of parks, marine life and city living. The repetition of circles in his work symbolizes the cataracts that have transformed his vision.

Bruce Hall
Irvine, CA
”Giant” (photography)
”Light” (photography)
My cameras allow me a way of viewing the myriad of colors, textures, shapes, and symmetry of the plants and animals in the ocean. For me, it’s like being able to really see for the first time, over and over again.

Sally Harris
Columbus, OH
”The Jib” (photography)
Sally Harris lost all but some peripheral vision when she was 17 years old … Working from memory, rather than sight, Harris projects onto canvas the places and things she feels most deeply about.

Passle Helminski
Erie, PA
”Turning Into Gold” 3rd place, 3 dimensional, (mixed media)
Passle has exhibited her fiber work internationally and continues to teach and organize fashion shows and wearable art seminars throughout North America.

Busser Howell
New York, NY
”Wiretap 1” (mixed media)
Like many artists who answer their calling, Busser has remained faithful to his craft for the majority of his life, letting the canvas serve both as a an expression of emotions and as a reflection of the artist’s voice throughout the stages of life.

Arlene Innmon
Minneapolis, MN
”On The Bus” Honorable mention, 2 dimensional, (oil pastel; acrylic)
I want to show what the world looks like to a person who is losing vision and how the feelings of grief and anger lead to transformation and acceptance. The definition of beauty changes from colored visual images to that of shape and texture.

David Kontra
Norwood, MO
”Character Study” (acrylic painting)
”Invasions” (acrylic painting)
With emotions of happiness, sorrow, anger, and love among others, to scenes of architecture, politics, humor and the bizarre, I create mirror images of society.

Michele LaComb
Conklin, NY
”Outdoor Orchid Sale” (acrylic painting)
From an early age, Michele loved creating art, but other interests intervened. Changing vision revitalized her love of art and her desire to create new works.

Don Lorah
Philadelphia, PA
”Big Nose” (sculpture)
Don became blind at age 37 and has since studied at the Main Line Center for the Arts and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Working with clay and papier-mâché, he enjoys the opportunity to work with NEBA and the chance to represent himself.

Frank Madison
Philadelphia, PA
”Horse & Rider” 2nd place, 3 dimensional (sculpture)
Frank began creating art in the 1980s and combines the use of his hands with his perception of the world. He considers art to be a snapshot, or a representation of the mind’s eye through what the hands create.

Tracy Mosman
Kansas City, MO
”Untitled #1” 1st place, 2 dimensional, (oil on canvas)
”Untitled #3”(oil on canvas)
For me, painting is an investigative process in which initial ideas and images are transformed. Tracy Mosman, an abstract painter, has earned a B.F.A. and M.F.A.s in painting, drawing and minor sculpture from the University of Iowa.

Andrea Mullock
Gladwyne, PA
”Crying” (sculpture)
Since an accident in 1985, which left me with a severe impairment in my vision, I decided to satisfy my desire to express myself in art with sculpture. I really enjoy the many aspects of sculpture, which I work on in Allens Lane Art Center. It has brought me both awards and great joy.

Plato Nickens
Plymouth Meeting, PA
”The Dancer” Honorable mention, 3 dimensional (sculpture)
Plato is a former fireman. He has been an artist for many years and takes classes with Bob Fluhr at Allen’s Lane Art Center.

James Powers
Bangor, ME
”Winds Of Grace” (oil painting)
In January of 1995 I went to the Maine Center for the Blind (now called the Iris Network) for rehabilitation services… This is where my love of paintings, which I loved so much pre-blindness… began its foundation.

Barbara Romain
Los Angeles, CA
”Dive” (acrylic painting)
Since being diagnosed with a retinal degenerative disease in 1984, Barbara Romain has frequently questioned her ability to continue painting. As her vision has deteriorated, however, she has discovered that her work is compelled by an inner vision.

Emily Sackawicz
Essington, PA
”Summer Breeze” (oil painting)
Emily worked in watercolors before having a stroke in 2003 that affected her vision. She decided to try oil painting and enjoyed it much more. I found the colors more brilliant and the consistency of the paint much easier to work with.

Romaine Samworth
Malvern, PA
”Buddy Bison” (sculpture)
With a whimsical imagination, Romaine sculpts colorful caricatures of animals inspired by her earlier years on a farm.

Ashby Saunders
Solebury, PA
”Rose” Honorable mention, 3 dimensional (sculpture)
I tend to focus on subjects familiar to me or which give me a special sense of personal satisfaction… I want viewers to recognize and feel some of the same emotion that made the piece happen.

Carol Saylor
Roslyn, PA
”Broken Heart” (sculpture)
”Secret Places” (sculpture)
A graduate of Tyler School of Art, Carol has been legally blind from Usher’s Syndrome since 1984. She says, I have been making and teaching art most of my life, and blindness has been my greatest teacher. I now know that we are not our bodies, and the body’s eyes have nothing to do with vision.

Russell Schermer
Chico, CA
”1913 Ford Model T” (ceramic)
”2000 VW Bug” (ceramic)
If I’d have to make cups and bowls all day to earn a living at this, I’m not interested in doing it at all. But let me make cars, and I’m ready to go to work.

Christopher Schoofs
Kewaskum, WI
”Joyful Spirit” (sculpture)
Christopher has a keen interest in light and its power not only to convey form, but also feeling.

Marcia Springston
Forest Hill, WV
”Ledges” 1st place, 3 dimensional (stoneware)
Marcia Springston, who has been blind since birth, has been creating pottery since 1975. She acquired her skills in ceramics at the Cuyahoga Valley Art Center, John C. Campbell Folk Art School, University of Northern Colorado, and Indiana University. Springston stresses function, texture and beauty in her hand-thrown pottery.

William Talero
Philadelphia, PA
”Funny Face” (sculpture)
My wish has been not so much to produce a work of art as to give vent to my own creative imagination and enjoyment in the process…

Frank Valliere
Gorham, ME
”Soon Will Be The Black Flies” 2nd place, 2 dimensional (oil pastel)
… Objects of human existence left to the environment seem to be telling their stories: where they’ve been, what they’ve done, and what they are doing now, as they settle in for the long haul, taking on more and more the character of their surroundings – the harsh, beautiful truth.

Martina Webb
Philadelphia, PA
”Signing” (sculpture)
Neglect not the gift that is in you, quotes Martina from a favorite scripture. A student of Vision Thru Art at Allens Lane Art Center, Martina specializes in creating figures from clay and wired armatures.

Roger Weiss
Ivyland, PA
”The Bench” (photography)
Roger claims that photography has been a challenge and has given him confidence once again. As you view my work, you will see the photos taken and developed by a man who wouldn’t give up. I hope you enjoy and appreciate the work and the man behind the photos.

Kurt Weston
Huntington Beach, CA
”Eye Of The Beholder” Honorable mention, 2 dimensional, (photography)
The heart of a photograph for Kurt Weston has always been anchored in an experienced reality. In 1991, Kurt was diagnosed with AIDS and in 1996 became legally blind due to AIDS-related CMV retinitis. His limited visual acuity… permits him to view the world as if it were an impressionist painting. The experience of blindness and living with a life threatening disease are the subjects that form the contextual imagery of his work.

Lewis White
”Platinum Vision” (acrylic painting)
Since receiving his BFA from Tyler School of Art in 1968, Lewis has been teaching sculpting at the Allens Lane Art Center. Using high-tech devices and light magnifiers allows him to paint hands free.

Touring Virtual Museum | Sponsors | Be a Friend | Contact Us

Previous years: NEBA 2003-2004 | NEBA 2001-2002 | NEBA 1999-2000 | NEBA 1997-1998