Blind Seattle artist reminds us that ‘someone can be creative without being sighted’

Blind Seattle artist Camille Jassny has a simple message for anyone taking in her work: “Please, touch my art!”

Camille has been completely blind since 2009, with the exception of occasionally sensing shadows or colors with the corner of her left eye. Embracing a sightless world, she studied and trained herself in collage making and creating her craft art, Button Buds.

All of her art features layers of texture, and it’s meant to be touched as well as seen. The goal is to help people with little or no sight to experience her art through their fingertips.

“Art, so often, you’re not allowed to touch, and I encourage people to touch my work,” she explains.

In the spirit of that goal, she looks to combine vibrant colors with touch.

“When people walk into a room and see my work, I want them to be taken aback that it’s bright, colorful, and it’s got some meaning to it,” she describes. “It’s really tactile -- they can walk up there and they can actually touch it.”

Perhaps even more than that, Camille wants people to “recognize someone can be creative without being sighted.”

Camille also works with the Seattle Art Museum on their Art Beyond Sight program, and is the founding member of a local book club for the blind through the Washington State Library. Starting this fall, the SAM will offer tours for the visually challenged.

You can check out all of Camille’s work at this link.