The Third annual Ohio State School for the Blind (OSSB) Student Art Show was on display at the State Library from April 25th to the end of May, 2019 . The art show featured seventeen mixed-media, symbolic self-portraits by the students in OSSB art teacher Rachelle Smith’s class.
Students drew inspiration from well-known artists like Frida Khalo and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Before beginning their artworks, students participated in a brainstorming process to identify key components of their identities. Each student was then provided with a blank mask and a canvas. Students painted and attached objects to their masks and canvases. The students selected objects that they could attribute to a meaningful connection to their lives. Once the artmaking process was complete, students wrote artist statements, explaining the meaning behind their artworks.
