Oklahoma School for the Deaf Artists to Tour OKC Art Museum and Blue Sage Glassblowing Studio

OKLAHOMA CITY – Many hopeful, young artists pass through the doors of the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and Blue Sage glassblowing studio every year. Some are looking for inspiration. Others bring it with them, including 35 student artists from the Oklahoma School for the Deaf (OSD), who will tour both fine art facilities on Thursday, May 13.

When they come to Oklahoma City, the seventh, eighth and ninth-graders’ first stop will be a 10-story high rise near Portland and Northwest Highway. The building is home to the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services and the location for a 75-piece exhibition of the students’ artwork, now on sale to the public.

The Oklahoma School for the Deaf is a division of DRS.

DRS Civil Rights Administrator Kara Morrow is enthusiastic about the students’ talent. “I love the piece of the African-American man near the break room,” Morrow told co-workers. “I mean that is great! I’d like to hang it in my house.”

Morrow’s first visit to the Oklahoma School for the Deaf campus in Sulphur inspired her to arrange the art field trip. “We want to show our appreciation to the kids and their teacher, Denise Henry, for allowing us to have the art on display at the DRS state office. We also want these young artists to enjoy other mediums of art they maybe haven’t been exposed to yet.”

A scholarship from the Inasmuch Foundation will cover most of the transportation costs and group admission fees to the Museum of Art located at 415 Couch Drive in downtown Oklahoma City. Leslie Spears, the museum communications manager, expects the "Sketch to Screen: The Art of Hollywood Costume Design” exhibition to be a student favorite. “This presentation explores the artistic contribution of costume design throughout American motion picture history – with costumes students will recognize and relate to,” Spears said.
“It’s going to be my first time going [to the museum], and I’m really excited about it,” said Andy Lobaugh, a ninth-grader from Paul’s Valley, who took his first art class last year. “I really, really love pop art. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll see some at the museum. When you walk past it, you automatically want to look at it. It really attracts the eye.”
Blue Sage Studios at 1218 N. Western in midtown area will be the next stop for the young artists. Gallery assistant Mara Porter has scheduled two glass blowers to demonstrate how to create a piece of glass from start to finish. “They will do a piece that takes about 20 minutes and explain the process and what they’re doing,” Porter said. “Blue Sage has an open door policy and are getting more tour requests because glassblowing is becoming more popular.”

Oklahoma School for the Deaf art teacher Denise Henry was a commercial artist for ten years before becoming certified to work with deaf students as a junior high and high school art teacher, a position she has held for 14 years.

“I traveled all over and was very frustrated with communication when I was outside the country,” Henry said. “Maybe that’s why I wanted to work with the deaf. At least it pushed me in that direction, especially when I learned that 80% of hearing parents do not learn how to sign and communicate with their children.”

Henry personally mounted and hung 150 pieces of art at the School for the Deaf and Department of Rehabilitation Services offices.

“It’s really good for students to see their pieces of art on display and the comments from everybody,” Henry said. “It helps people realize that hearing has nothing to do with what the students produce on paper. And maybe if they learn about art careers and the opportunities that are out there, more of them would go into it."

Andy Lobaugh is bringing another piece of art to add to the DRS exhibition, an award-winning drawing of Yoda, the character from Star Wars, which he admits is “pretty good.”

Denise Henry agrees, “This is something we really want people to see and enjoy.”

The Oklahoma School for the Deaf provides educational services free of charge to students who are deaf and hard of hearing. Students may live on campus during the week, commute from home, participate in summer school programs or attend satellite pre-schools located in Edmond, Collinsville and Chickasha. Extensive outreach services are also available to students who are deaf or hard of hearing from local public schools. For more information, call (580) 622-4900 or 888-685-3323 toll free or visit the website at www.osd.k12.ok.us.

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