Sensory Tactile Art
PRESENTATIONS
Our guided tactile art experiences are designed to inspire, educate, and heal. Participants engage with handcrafted tactile artworks, rather than creating their own pieces. Each presentation combines Linda's sensory storytelling with tactile art and explore’s profound and relatable themes.
Our Signature Presentations
Our programs are tailored to a variety of audiences and can be booked for schools, businesses, and community organizations across Minnesota.
HUNGRY LITTLE
MONSTERS
A Story of Loss
In this sensory storytelling program, handcrafted, whimsical toy monsters represent progressive vision loss as they nibble away at a peripheral field. Linda shares a personal story about the process of developing tunnel vision, making her journey relatable to anyone experiencing loss. This presentation provides a safe and lighthearted space to explore the emotional journey of loss.
I’M GOING
WHAT?!?
A Story of Diagnosis
This presentation uses symbolic art to address the overwhelming feelings of receiving a life-altering diagnosis. Participants will interact with a rock cairn that represents a person, and uses handmade speech bubbles to fill a basket, which visualizes the flood of thoughts and feelings that come with the news. This program is a powerful tool for promoting empathy and understanding.
“From the moment Linda entered my classroom with her guide dog, she captured the hearts of my fourth-grade students. It was a wonder to witness my students experience the feeling of losing their eyesight through interactive play with her tactile art. I recommend this artist’s storytelling program to any class teacher who wants their students to experience empathy and understanding of eyesight loss through art.”
— Rosie Cole, Artist and Educator, at
City of Lakes Waldorf School, Minneapolis, MN
! YIKES !
A Story of Fear
! YIKES ! is an engaging story-driven sensory presentation focused on confronting fear. We use playful, tactile objects like toy tires and ladybug finger puppets to re-enact anxiety-inducing scenarios. By providing a hands-on way to explore these emotions, the program empowers both sighted and visually impaired individuals to navigate and overcome their fears.
I FEEL
STUCK
A Story of Isolation
This experiential art presentation explores the feeling of being trapped or isolated. Linda shares her personal experience with this emotion, using a compelling model of a goldfish in a bowl it's too big for. Participants are encouraged to handle the tactile models while discussing their own feelings, helping to build a sense of community.
SPINNIN’ DOORS
A Story of Adapting
This guided touch-based encounter with art explores the process of adapting to blindness. Linda shares a story from her own life about navigating a changing world, using an interactive model of a hallway with unexpected spinnin’ doorways. The program helps participants understand that with training, resilience and a new perspective, obstacles can be overcome.
Why Our Presentations Are Different
Tactile Artworks presentations are not one-time workshops, they are artist-led experiences that blend professional design, sensory storytelling, and tactile exploration. Guided by Linda's background in theatre and her lived experience with vision loss, each presentation offers a powerful shift in how participants think about perception, and inclusion.
MY
LIGHT AT THE
END OF THE TUNNEL
A Story of Hope
Based on Linda's journey with her guide dog, this presentation shares a powerful message of hope and regained independence. Linda uses a highly textured piece of textile artwork to symbolize the journey toward a brighter future, demonstrating how a new perspective and support system can provide light even after a period of darkness.
SPIRAL PATHS
A Story of Healing
A deeply personal and inspiring presentation, Spiral Paths uses tactile art to illustrate Linda's winding journey of healing and growth. Through a series of storytelling subjects accompanied by clay tactile art, Linda shows that the path to emotional recovery is a continuous process of self-discovery and moving forward.
INCLUSION
Stories of Helping
This presentation is a unique look at how innovators are creating new ways for people with blindness to experience art. Linda will use a series of storytelling subjects and objects to guide a discussion on current accessibility efforts, such as museum touch tours, 3-D printers make replicas of famous paintings into reliefs, theatres providsensory stage tours with audio-described performances, etc. The goal is to show the many possibilities for a more inclusive future and inspire everyone to find ways to help.