I had admired the painting for several years but it was not for sale and the artist did not plan to have prints made. Then, as my 50th birthday approached, my husband managed to persuade him to make an exception and my copy of the picture of the young deaf girl learning to read and speak has pride of place in my living room. The sentence she is studying is "many achieve worldly honours, but the greatest achievements are usually unrecognised." Few people understand the enormous concentration and effort that deaf children have to put into learning basic language skills but I think Walter Elliott depicts is very well here.
Thank you Maureen,
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely!
And I like pictures with a story behind them.
Margaretha
I would be lost without being able to read. Sadly there are still many teenagers who have only basic reading and writing skills. I often find myself at school wondering how they cope, and imagining what a nightmare school must be for them- locked out of so much.
ReplyDeleteYour special picture is lovely. It's always more satisfying to have art on the walls that actually has relevence, I think. (I had an aquaintance who bought pictures solely on whether the colours would 'go' in her rooms, she didn't give a toss about the content.)
When I felt overwhelmed by the mindless bureaucracy that invaded the world of education in my last ten years of work, this picture would remind me of why I became a teacher of the deaf and spur me on to fight for what I believed in.
ReplyDeletem. What strikes me is the perfect love and trust in the little girl's face. No wonder you admire the painting so much. Glad the artist made an exception for you.
ReplyDeleteWhat a treasure, and what a loving gesture from your husband to persuade the artist to make a copy. I agree with Rattling On; a few years ago, some of my paintings were in an art show, and one admirer said "I'd like to buy your painting, but it wouldn't match my couch." I didn't know whether to feel pleased or insulted. Lol.
ReplyDeleteLovely painting and story that goes along with it.
ReplyDeleteI met a man recently who told me that after he had a stroke he lost the ability to read. What a terrible blow that is!
The mutual trust and communication in the painting is a pure image of all teaching and learning. This is where hope lives. Lovely story. Lovely painting.
ReplyDeletew
It is a lovely painting.
ReplyDeleteMost people don't understand how much effort people with any form of disability have to put in just to through an average day. All of them real heroes.
Hello Al and welcome. This post has introduced me to Wendy's blog and via that to yours. I am now busy exploring these new places. Thanks for dropping by.
ReplyDelete