Have you watched the movie or the play "The Miracle Worker?" No? Linda Espy, an artist from Summerville, Ga., saw the movie – and it ignited a passion in her.
Espy explains, "There is a scene in the movie, 'The Miracle Worker,' in which Helen Keller's life is changed by discovering that words represent objects and thoughts. My life was changed after watching the movie. I discovered that I was drawn to working with disabled children." Following five years of volunteer work and 33 years of teaching children with various disabilities, she still feels the passion.
After retirement, she was able to follow her other passion, art. She studied oils, watercolor, pen and ink, and acrylics, but discovered that she loved sculpture most. After taking a class in doll sculpting, she began making figures of all sizes. Combining her passions for disabled children and art, she sculpted the famous scene of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan at the water pump. It is this sculpted piece she has donated for the ACB auction.
The figures of Helen and Annie are sculpted from polymer clay over wire armatures. Facial features are hand-painted and Tibetan lamb hair is added to make wigs. Shoes are sculpted from polymer clay and clothes are designed and made for each figure. The figures are posed and anchored onto a hand-made base, with the pump. The "water" was made of nylon filament and epoxy.
Please make every effort to discover the hidden treasures in your community to provide unique and interesting art for our 2010 live auction. Artists are often very willing and honored by requests to donate their work for a worthy recipient as ACB!
The live auction will begin with treasures from our affiliates. Please make sure Brenda Dillon receives descriptions of all auction items by June 30th in order to prepare braille and organize lists for the auctioneers. Send all descriptions of auction items to Marsha Farrow at [email protected] or phone her at (706) 857-2968. Also, copy Brenda Dillon at [email protected]. Put the words "ACB Auction" in the subject line of your message.
If you would prefer not to travel with your donations, please mail your donated items valued at $25 or greater to: ACB Auction, c/o Barbara McDonald, 1727 W. Osborn Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85015-5828. Remember to mark all packages "for ACB Auction." Barbara will receive items up till July 2, 2010.