Monday 2 May 2011

A Word in Hand

The theme for this week's Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge is "hands" and I was immediately inspired to use a quote from a poem I've always loved.  Most of you won't know this, but I studied British Sign Language for 17 years, eventually teaching in a college for Deaf people and also doing some sign interpreting, both in the UK and overseas.  In the course of all this I made many Deaf friends, and one lady who made a big impression on me was Dorothy Miles, a Deaf poet and playright.  Sadly she's no longer with us, but her work lives on, and the quote I've used is from her poem "To a Deaf Child".  The quote reads:


"Oh, better the word in hand than a thousand spilled from the lips upon the hearless ear."


The arrangement of hands from Tim Holtz's Steampunk stamp set in the picture is almost (but not quite) an illustration of the sign for "talk", which I thought fitted with the quote nicely!

Our ever-generous sponsor Simon Says Stamp is offering a $50 gift voucher as the prize again this week! The winner will be chosen at random from those who enter the challenge, so why not give it a try? At the very least why not head over to the Challenge Blog to see how the other members of the design team have interpreted this weeks theme! :)

14 comments :

misteejay said...

What a lovely thoughtful piece Dan.

Toni :o)

Sid said...

Great idea for a themed card Dan ! looks fab !

Weezy said...

That is really really lovely Dan, the colours are soft and I love the repeating image of the hand :)

Candy C said...

Dan, your piece is truly inspired snd I really appreciated not only looking at how lovely it is but reading the story behind it's inspiration. It is a wonderful piece. XO. Candy

Lori said...

Very cool, piece Dan! Love the creativity behind this!

Helen said...

Great art, and thanks for sharing the story behind it

Sue Jones said...

Perfect interpretation.
Love the quote.
Hope you Win.

Claire said...

That's really lovely Dan, both the finished item & the story behind it. love the colours too.
C
xx

Gillian .... said...

The quote is truly inspiring Dan and so was the thinking behind this piece, love the placement of the hands.

Marjie Kemper said...

I have to say ditto to Candy. I took sign language classes in the early 90s. So glad to find you and your blog from the Simon Says challenge.

Virginia said...

Wow that is an amazing piece Dan - I love the quote - so very true!

Hugs

email: Steph@SimonSaysStamp.com said...

I love the tape and the colors are fantastic! Allow me to give you a ‘hand’ ;)

*mwah*
Steph
Simon Says Stamp

Sue in CT said...

Another fantastic piece of art.

Cindy Wick said...

I'm glad you shared about this season in your life. I love the occasional post with depth. :) Helps me remember that their really is so much more to life than Art. :D

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