Tina Blatter
2005 Distinguished Service of the Year
in Arts & Disabilities

Tina Blatter hold a piece of her tactile art.
 
Tina Blatter is a native of New York State and has been legally blind since birth. As a high school student she was told that she could not go on to get an art degree. Tina did not allow this to discourage her from developing her talent and experimenting with various mediums. In the late 1980's, when she experienced additional vision loss, she began to create tactile collages. This unique art form includes tactile, two-dimensional work that invites the viewer to touch as well as see the painting. In order to make her work accessible to the greatest number of people, she includes information about her work in Braille as well as in large print. Having the ability to develop her art and then to make it accessible to others has been a life long dream of hers.
The artist has exhibited her art and presented workshops nationally and internationally. In May 1994 her art was displayed at the Very Special Arts Festival in Brussels, Belgium where she also presented workshops for children with various disabilities from all over the world.
With a background in Special Education and counseling, the teacher has found it most comfortable to work in the classroom setting. Beginning in 1990, Tina has been involved with VSA arts and has participated in various artist-in-residency and touring arts programs. She has a passion for teaching and has presented workshops in Colorado, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas. At this time she continues to teach ceramics and mixed media in the After School Art Clubs offered by Accessible Arts at the Kansas State School for the Blind.
Tina helps a student in the ceramics club.
Blatter was a team consultant on accessibility for the Denver Museum of Natural History when they renovated their exhibits. She also has provided training on blindness at art museums in Colorado and Missouri. She is often invited to do public speaking on art education, disability awareness and careers in the arts.
In 2000 Tina was featured with two other blind painters in the documentary film, Water, Night, Touch, Light and has been published in two books, Art Beyond Sight and Putting Creativity to Work.
Blatter came to Kansas City in 2000 to work as the Program Director for Accessible Arts. In 2002, a traumatic brain injury challenged her to look for other ways to develop her art. Currently she continues to work with Accessible Arts part time and works on her own art in fiber and ceramics.