A Universal Art Form

Aug 1

Art is lovely because it can tell a story. Whether it be a photo of a beautiful landscape or a cute drawing of a baby elephant, these images will communicate feelings and thoughts to others. In some cases, this sort of visual communication may be used for specific reasons.

Aaradhya, a rather thoughtful camper from Sydney, made a beautiful card for her mother, which emoted her gratefulness towards her mother’s patience and care. Underneath a beautiful rainbow, Aaradhya wrote, “To Mom, I am sorry for everything.” The thoughtfulness of the creation alone depicts creativity and dedication; it is definitely an apology worth considering!

Visual arts can also be used to educate others. Juwan, a camper from camp Seoul, constructed a tidy and informational book about South Korean language and culture. Although you might need to understand a little Korean before reading the book, it impressively introduces some intricate details about the South Korean flag and language.

Interestingly, both Aaradhya and Juwan’s visual arts can be appreciated by the deaf. In fact, so can much of the art that is uploaded to TaleTree! Cassidy, another student from Seoul, was thoughtful enough to design a poster using American Sign Language (ASL) fingerspelling. As featured in this post, Cassidy spells her name by drawing the fingerspelling for each letter in her name.

Although you do not need to be fluent in a sign language to communicate with the deaf, it is most worthwhile to think of ways in which you can include the deaf and hard-of-hearing in day-to-day communication. Look up the most popular form of sign language in your region and learn basic signs, such as greetings and goodbyes. If you know of someone who may benefit from signing, you may also use your body and facial expressions to emphasize your speech. What are some other ways you can become more inclusive in your speech?

“Signs are to eyes what words are to ears”- Ken Glickman

The Time to Act is Now!

At TaleTree, we understand the harm which humans cause to our vast oceans. We asked our campers to depict this global issue through their art.