Boston Globe

Hands-on
Rockport studio will show the work of visually impaired students who are guided by texture and touch
By Brenda J. Buote, Globe Staff, December 10, 2006

With a spinning wheel and equal parts determination and talent, 15-year-old Kayla Bentas is able to transform an ordinary ball of clay and a dab of water into a functional work of art -- a bowl, a mug, or even a vase.

"I love the way it feels, all smooth and wet, with graceful, gentle slopes," Kayla says of the clay she's molding into a bowl, her face beaming. At a nearby table, giggling elementary students examine their works in progress, nimbly running their fingers over the delicate figurines -- a girl with braided hair and a small lizard -- to find flaws. One child holds her creation to her left eye, eager to get a better idea of what it might look like. But even up close, she is able to see only light and shadow. The details elude her.

These children are all legally blind. They must rely on texture and shape to mold their artistic vision, which several of them will share today when their work is displayed at the Cynthia Curtis Pottery holiday show.
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