This year’s White Cane Day celebration at the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind showcased the creativity and independence of our students through various art projects. In secondary art classes, students reflected on what White Cane Day means to them and their journey towards independence. Using diverse materials such as clay, paint, and plaster, they expressed their ideas through original artwork, highlighting the importance of mobility andself-reliance.
The White Cane Day T-shirt design competition brought together secondary students’ artistic skills in a fun and engaging way. Many explored digital art, while others sculpted their designs before collaborating with the art teacher to translate them into digital formats. The winning design, titled "Independent Day and Night," was created by Amaya and features a white cane split between the sun and the moon, symbolizing independence at any time of day. Elementary students embraced tactile art projects, creating "Crazy Canes" with unique coilshapes and colors to represent their individual expression. They also crafted a collaborative tactile map of a city block, inspired by their orientation and mobility lessons in the community.
Additionally, a student in the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) class, Rose, expressed a desire to learn more about selling her artwork. This sparked the idea to sell White Cane Day-themed earrings and pottery made by students, with all proceeds going towards funding a field trip for the ECC class. This endeavor not only encouraged entrepreneurial skills, but also strengthened a sense of community support and connection among our students.
