1
00:00:00,733 --> 00:00:03,700
- And these are 
gonna be strikers.

2
00:00:03,700 --> 00:00:06,366
And strikers is where 
you hold matches.

3
00:00:06,366 --> 00:00:09,133
'Cause, you know, I'm about 
ready for the barbecue season.

4
00:00:10,500 --> 00:00:14,000
First of all, I was born Blind.

5
00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:16,966
I don't let my disability 
stop me from being a potter.

6
00:00:16,966 --> 00:00:20,766
And what drew me to it is 
the fact that I like tactile.

7
00:00:20,766 --> 00:00:21,966
Like you're always picking up,

8
00:00:21,966 --> 00:00:25,466
touching everything, 
that's me at the store.

9
00:00:25,466 --> 00:00:27,600
Everything that you see in life

10
00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:29,100
or that you 
experience and touch,

11
00:00:29,100 --> 00:00:31,533
it inspired me to figure 
out what I'm gonna make.

12
00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:34,500
Your mind keeps saying,

13
00:00:34,500 --> 00:00:36,433
well let me see what 
it takes to build that.

14
00:00:36,433 --> 00:00:38,833
These are berry bowls 
and believe it or not,

15
00:00:38,833 --> 00:00:40,200
this is a soup container

16
00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:42,133
that comes off of 
those packaged soups.

17
00:00:42,133 --> 00:00:45,633
And I take my berry bowl 
and I set it up this way.

18
00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:49,200
When I say that I do pottery

19
00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:53,633
or they see me working and 
doing pottery, they're shocked.

20
00:00:53,633 --> 00:00:55,133
Traditionally,

21
00:00:55,133 --> 00:00:56,933
there's not that many women 
and especially women of color

22
00:00:56,933 --> 00:00:58,333
or people with disabilities,

23
00:00:58,333 --> 00:01:02,066
I don't know any Blind 
female Black women in pottery

24
00:01:02,066 --> 00:01:05,733
to tell you the truth, 
I've never met one yet.

25
00:01:05,733 --> 00:01:06,666
(chuckles)

26
00:01:06,666 --> 00:01:09,100
(calm music)

27
00:01:09,100 --> 00:01:10,566
I like texture.

28
00:01:10,566 --> 00:01:13,733
Texture is my way of 
knowing what's around me.

29
00:01:13,733 --> 00:01:17,000
So your mind is always 
trying to figure out

30
00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,500
exactly how is it 
supposed to be.

31
00:01:19,500 --> 00:01:22,100
And that's part of the 
reason why I got into pottery

32
00:01:22,100 --> 00:01:24,933
was because I wanted 
to always figure it out

33
00:01:24,933 --> 00:01:29,000
and not just live in the world 
of a woman with a disability.

34
00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:30,433
You can live in the world

35
00:01:30,433 --> 00:01:32,733
but you need to exist in 
the world that you live in.

36
00:01:32,733 --> 00:01:34,233
And the only way that can happen

37
00:01:34,233 --> 00:01:36,400
is that you actually get out 
there and you touch things

38
00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:39,900
and you feel things and 
you don't let people say

39
00:01:39,900 --> 00:01:42,000
what your world 
is supposed to be.

40
00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:45,366
And I just start putting 
that coat on there somewhere.

41
00:01:45,366 --> 00:01:48,533
A disability does 
not mean no ability.

42
00:01:48,533 --> 00:01:50,666
Disability is about ability.

43
00:01:50,666 --> 00:01:52,733
Using the abilities 
that you have to create.

44
00:01:52,733 --> 00:01:54,733
And if you really wanna do it,

45
00:01:54,733 --> 00:01:56,766
you'll figure out how to do it.

46
00:01:56,766 --> 00:01:58,033
I want in the future

47
00:01:58,033 --> 00:02:01,666
to make sure that I 
stay doing public art

48
00:02:01,666 --> 00:02:04,566
with communities of 
individuals with disabilities

49
00:02:04,566 --> 00:02:07,400
so that we can become 
visible in the art world.

50
00:02:14,066 --> 00:02:16,466
- [Announcer] This program 
was produced in collaboration

51
00:02:16,466 --> 00:02:18,233
with the Center for 
the Art of Medicine

52
00:02:18,233 --> 00:02:20,733
at the University of 
Minnesota Medical School.

53
00:02:20,733 --> 00:02:24,066
And funded by the Minnesota 
Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund

54
00:02:24,066 --> 00:02:25,900
and the citizens of Minnesota.

55
00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:29,400
(calm music)