Semi-Accessible Art Project for the Visually Impaired - Using Wikisticks

We have a friend who is visually impaired. He has some sight, and can make out things that are very high contrast and bold. Before he became blind, he was a fashion designer, but has not done any artwork since then. I thought up this little project for him, and he really enjoyed doing it. His piece came out great, and I can see that he has talent to work with. He just needs a proper medium that he can feel comfortable using.

Here's what I thought up: I got some Wikisticks at the craft store. Those are strings coated with a thick wax that is sticky enough to adhere to things. They are marketed to children, and come in bright, fun colors. Interestingly, they are also marketed to the blind on websites that sell accessibility aids.

I painted the back of a linoblock with black paint to create a high-contrast platform to stick the Wikisticks to. Our friend was able to make out the shapes of the sticks against the black background, and he also had the tactile feedback to help him along. He used scissors to cut the sticks to size. Here's what the block looked like before printing:

I printed it for him, but I really believe, with some practice, he could do this part himself. Relief printing inks tell you when they are the correct consistency by letting out a little hissing sound when you roll it, and burnishing the back of the paper was a piece of cake with this project. Also, our friend is completely colorblind, and only wants to work in black, so that part is also simple. I was amazed to see that the new OIL ink is indeed completely washable - with only WATER. This feature is just right for him because, naturally, he's cautious about having ink on his hands. It's perfect to have an ink that will print beautifully, but still rinse right off.

Here's the final product along with the block and some Wikisticks.

I matted some of his prints, and also framed one. They look fabulous, and he wants to try it again.

#17 - The Comedy of Errors - Slap Happy!

Clique to Embiggen

Here it is! Well, a print of the black plate, anyway. I will scan this and transfer the image onto the other four blocks. Those will be EASY to carve by comparison.

I can hardly believe that I carved this. I'm looking at pieces I did just a few months ago, and the carving (while nice) shows that I had far less control over the blade. So, I wonder where the plateau is. Will I be an insanely good carver by the time I reach my 60 piece goal? I remember watching a little documentary about the making of the Incredibles. In it, the artists were told to "push", meaning: How far can you take this idea? Can it go just a little further? Now, can you push it even more? That's what I'm mindful of as I'm making a new piece. Push.

#17 - Comedy of Errors - Revised Sketch - UPDATE: Final Piece Added

SCROLL DOWN FOR FINAL PIECE

Pretty close to complete... I want to do a split fountain effect on the masks, blending in white. I may get rid of the lines coming out of the mouths since they are a little ambiguous. The changes I made are essentially ones that made it look more like a playing card. I added the hands and made the whole thing more of a mirror image. I think this accentuates the happy/sad drama mask difference since everything else is more consistent. I look at this and it seems decisive to me, and that's a goal I'm always shooting for with my art.

UPDATE:
This page gets a lot of hits, so I thought I would post the completed piece as well: