Seeing life at their fingertips

By JOHN SKENDALL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
SHARON, Pa. -- Blind and visually impaired children are doing artwork this summer they never dreamed they could. They've threaded needles, weaved baskets and crafted three murals through touch and texture, bright colors and a little teeth-gritting determination.
The tactile murals are the culmination of three stimulating weeks of day camp in June at the Keystone Blind Association on Stambaugh Avenue. The pupils are spending Tuesday through Thursday this week finishing the colorful, three-dimensional rectangular panels for their public unveiling Aug. 8. The works will hang in the Blind Association building.
The fine arts camp is offered free for 5- to 19-year-olds from Mahoning and Trumbull counties and five counties in Pennsylvania, with the goal of exposing kids to a larger world, one where pleasure and expression is right at their fingertips.
From experience
At the camp, children weaved baskets in one afternoon -- a feat for anyone -- but it's apparently all in a day's work for the visiting art instructor, S. Passle Helminski. She's here for four months through a grant from the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation.
"Nothing in life is hard unless somebody tells you it's hard," said the Erie native, who was nearly finished with her master's degree in art when she lost most of her sight.
She suffered a stroke in 1993 after an assault that ruptured her left carotid artery.
After narrowly recovering, the former photo-realistic painter had to adapt her whole artistic focus.
As a teacher, Helminski hopes to promote creativity and sensitivity in her pupils -- likely the same traits that make her now an award-winning artisan of fiber sculptures.
Believing in themselves
Helminski said she refuses to coddle, pushing the children and teens to believe in themselves and to try new things.
"They have to deal with it," she said. "They've learned that they can do more, that they can be more creative."
For Jenna Sefcik, 16, the arts program has been different from other day camps.
"I think it has taught me that I am creative and artistic," Jenna said. The Poland teen said she sees colors and contrasts in light, but not much more.
Blindness and visual impairment vary widely, said Jonathan Fister, president of the Keystone Blind Association. The program tries to suit the varied abilities of the campers.
Some of the pupils are lacking peripheral vision or have only a small hole of clear vision. Others see only shades of color or contrasts in light.
"A lot of times they get left out of activities at school," such as physical education or fine arts, said Kathie Preece, director of children's programs at the Blind Association.
Fitting in
The pupils intently sprinkled glitter and marked their finishing touches on their murals. Next year, provided there's enough funding, Helminski plans to do bigger, sculptural works.
Here the pupils, who are often the only visually impaired children in their school, can meet others just like them. And they are anything but left out.
Helminski earned a bachelor of arts degree from Mercyhurst College in Erie and master of arts and master of fine arts degrees from Edinboro University.
The program at Keystone Blind Association is being underwritten with a $9,000 grant from the Artists & amp; Communities 2003 program of the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, a regional arts organization serving seven states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.