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The Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (KCDHH) and
DeaFestival – Kentucky 2002 gave birth to the Horse of a Different Color, a
project taken on by Visual Artist’s participating in the DeaFestival Artist Studio
in 2002 and a traditional representation of Kentucky. Each artist contributed
to the artwork in a free flowing and spontaneous manner, however the artwork
was not completed at DeaFestival. The horse then traveled to Washington
DC, where other artist’s attending the National Association of the Deaf
conference in 2002, contributed their time and energy to painting our horse.
Unfortunately, uninvited guests also contributed...and when the conference
ended the Horse was still incomplete, lacking the “finished product” look
that DeaFestival Visual Artists always give their work.
Jeff Carroll ( 2002 preparing the horse)
Tony L. McGregor (DeaFestival 2002)
Iris Aranda (DeaFestival 2002)
Chuck Baird (Finishing Artist 2003)
In contemplating how to finish the Horse, KCDHH decided to seek the advice
from other well-known Visual Artists both hearing and deaf. Discussions on
how to complete the horse were a long and well thought out process. In
2003 Chuck Baird, a nationaly known artist, was selected and came to
Kentucky to complete the project. The finished project name, “My Eyes are
My Ears” was inspired by Tony McGregor and is a reflection of his original
work on the horse.
The original images painted by the artists were transferred to the horse,
although in a smaller format, to allow for the blending of images and
background, and to tell a story of KCDHH and DeaFestival. Hands of staff
members who are the backbone of volunteers that produce DeaFestival
were used to “connect” the images transferred. Not all images were included,
as some were unfinished and some were unknown artists. The goal of the
project was to show unity and a partnership between the artist and
DeaFestival. “My Eyes are My Ears” now proudly stands as a testimony of
DeaFestival-Kentucky’s support of Deaf Visual Artists. What you see before
you now is the compilation of many spirits and the love for ART from all who
participated. An artistic horse with roots in KENTUCKY!
Participating Artists
Iris Aranda
Kat McGee
3 B’s (Betty Taylor, Beulah Hester,
Tony Landon McGregor
Barbie Harris)
Betty G. Miller
Chuck Baird
Victor Notaro
Jeff Carroll
Lori Rosenberg
Angela Clark
Ann Silver
Malie DeCorte
Rita Straubhaar
Susan Dupor
Diane Squires
Paul Johnston
Alex Wilhite
Ayisha Knight
Patricia Womack
Elaine Laird
William Wombles