In Oregon, blind artist shares her vision

From The World in Oregon:

When 72-year-old Priscilla Rose-Wyatt (pictured left in photo) began losing her sight, she learned new painting techniques that let her continue her lifelong art career.

Now she's teaching them to other visually impaired people, allowing some of them to create visual art for the first time.

Nov. 6-7, she taught a public lesson to several students at Pony Village Mall.

"I'm not doing this for money - more to joy the hearts of people," Rose-Wyatt said.

Rose-Wyatt adapted the techniques to each person's needs. For example, she showed students how to create paintings with raised elements they can feel as they add color.

"I don't remember ever doing painting before," said 41-year-old Karyn Swinderman, who has been blind since birth but can see colors.

In the workshop, Swinderman learned to mix heat-set oil paints to get the colors she wanted, and painted a picture of a turkey.

When Rose-Wyatt began losing her sight, she was invited to teach a painting workshop at a weeklong camp where newly blind people learn skills such as navigating with a cane, communicating, shopping and cooking without sight.

"It was so exciting and so exhilarating," she said.

Now she incorporates her painting techniques into lessons at her North Bend studio, The Rose Palette, for both blind and sighted students.