WEBVTT 00:00.733 --> 00:03.700 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% - And these are gonna be strikers. 00:03.700 --> 00:06.366 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% And strikers is where you hold matches. 00:06.366 --> 00:09.133 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% 'Cause, you know, I'm about ready for the barbecue season. 00:10.500 --> 00:14.000 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% First of all, I was born Blind. 00:14.000 --> 00:16.966 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% I don't let my disability stop me from being a potter. 00:16.966 --> 00:20.766 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% And what drew me to it is the fact that I like tactile. 00:20.766 --> 00:21.966 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% Like you're always picking up, 00:21.966 --> 00:25.466 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% touching everything, that's me at the store. 00:25.466 --> 00:27.600 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% Everything that you see in life 00:27.600 --> 00:29.100 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% or that you experience and touch, 00:29.100 --> 00:31.533 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% it inspired me to figure out what I'm gonna make. 00:33.200 --> 00:34.500 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% Your mind keeps saying, 00:34.500 --> 00:36.433 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% well let me see what it takes to build that. 00:36.433 --> 00:38.833 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% These are berry bowls and believe it or not, 00:38.833 --> 00:40.200 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% this is a soup container 00:40.200 --> 00:42.133 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% that comes off of those packaged soups. 00:42.133 --> 00:45.633 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% And I take my berry bowl and I set it up this way. 00:47.000 --> 00:49.200 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% When I say that I do pottery 00:49.200 --> 00:53.633 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% or they see me working and doing pottery, they're shocked. 00:53.633 --> 00:55.133 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% Traditionally, 00:55.133 --> 00:56.933 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% there's not that many women and especially women of color 00:56.933 --> 00:58.333 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% or people with disabilities, 00:58.333 --> 01:02.066 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% I don't know any Blind female Black women in pottery 01:02.066 --> 01:05.733 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% to tell you the truth, I've never met one yet. 01:05.733 --> 01:06.666 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% (chuckles) 01:06.666 --> 01:09.100 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% (calm music) 01:09.100 --> 01:10.566 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% I like texture. 01:10.566 --> 01:13.733 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% Texture is my way of knowing what's around me. 01:13.733 --> 01:17.000 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% So your mind is always trying to figure out 01:17.000 --> 01:19.500 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% exactly how is it supposed to be. 01:19.500 --> 01:22.100 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% And that's part of the reason why I got into pottery 01:22.100 --> 01:24.933 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% was because I wanted to always figure it out 01:24.933 --> 01:29.000 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% and not just live in the world of a woman with a disability. 01:29.000 --> 01:30.433 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% You can live in the world 01:30.433 --> 01:32.733 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% but you need to exist in the world that you live in. 01:32.733 --> 01:34.233 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% And the only way that can happen 01:34.233 --> 01:36.400 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% is that you actually get out there and you touch things 01:36.400 --> 01:39.900 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% and you feel things and you don't let people say 01:39.900 --> 01:42.000 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% what your world is supposed to be. 01:42.000 --> 01:45.366 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% And I just start putting that coat on there somewhere. 01:45.366 --> 01:48.533 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% A disability does not mean no ability. 01:48.533 --> 01:50.666 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% Disability is about ability. 01:50.666 --> 01:52.733 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% Using the abilities that you have to create. 01:52.733 --> 01:54.733 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% And if you really wanna do it, 01:54.733 --> 01:56.766 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% you'll figure out how to do it. 01:56.766 --> 01:58.033 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% I want in the future 01:58.033 --> 02:01.666 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% to make sure that I stay doing public art 02:01.666 --> 02:04.566 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% with communities of individuals with disabilities 02:04.566 --> 02:07.400 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% so that we can become visible in the art world. 02:14.066 --> 02:16.466 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% - [Announcer] This program was produced in collaboration 02:16.466 --> 02:18.233 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% with the Center for the Art of Medicine 02:18.233 --> 02:20.733 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% at the University of Minnesota Medical School. 02:20.733 --> 02:24.066 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% And funded by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund 02:24.066 --> 02:25.900 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% and the citizens of Minnesota. 02:26.800 --> 02:29.400 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% (calm music)