children

My son loves to express his self through fingerpainting and coloring. It gives him immediate satisfaction to see his own mark on the world. I believe it gives him a confidence boost when he sees the art that he has created and the happiness he inspires. Children are visual and expressive creatures, their language is developing as they grow. Both art and sign language have had an enourmous impact on my son's short life. I began teaching him sign language (and myself) at 6 months of age. More was our first sign and within 2 more months he was saying more with words. Please is another of his favorite signs that he uses along with speaking please. I believe that learning the ASL sign with language has encouraged my son's speaking and understanding of the meaning of words. A recent example of this point, my son often asks me throughout the day every monday about his Daddy? I say he is at work and show him the ASL sign. He mimics my movement of the ASL sign for work. It confirms as well as explains to him that Daddy is at work and satisfies his curriousity about where Daddy is. Furthermore, children's minds are like sponges, as my son builds up his knowledge of the world around him, his comprehension increases every time he learns a new ASL sign. Meanwhile his spoken language continues to develop.

Deaf culture and art work incredibly well together, as they are both extremely visual as well as expressive. There are a large number of deaf artists, many of whom are known of and respected around the globe. In an article written by Jamie Berke titled "Deaf Culture Deaf Art" the author defines deaf art as, "art created by a deaf/hoh person that expresses some aspect of deafness and hearing loss". Within the deaf community, deaf-themed art is sometimes referred to as De'Via (deaf view/image art).
Social gatherings within deaf culture often include storytelling, performances of various types and even comedies.

Works Cited

Works Cited Page


Lane, Harlan, Robert Hoffmeister, Ben Bahan. “Deaf Culture: The Arts”. Journey into the Deaf World. San Diego, CA: DawnSignPress, 1996. 138-143.


Berke, Jamie. (2007). Deaf Culture – Deaf Art. About.com. The New York Times Company. 8/13/07:http://deafness.about.com/od/deafculture/adeafart.htm?p=1


Author Unknown. (2007) What is Deaf Art. 8/13/07:http://www.deafart.org/Deaf_Art_/deaf_art_.html


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