Deaf Stars Shine - James Davis Window Box

JAMES DAVIS Born 1952, Berkeley California Has practiced at Creative Growth since 2014 I have been an artist since I was a child. My name is James Davis. The letter D (upper left painting) I reproduced on the paper because I like the shape. D stands for Deaf. I can move it around in different orientations and different colors. It symbolizes that Deaf people are different, and also my name is James Davis, JD. Join me in my Deaf artists' rocket ship. I am driving the rocket ship out there, and this is what you get to see.Once you see this, you know you are not on Earth anymore. You are in outer space. There are paintings of rocket ships and being in space—the brightness, different organisms, almost like the movement of fish. It's flowing. If you were in space, this is what you might see. From the dress you see the shooting stars, like a comet or meteor. I put the dress in the middle so we could see the back. I like the idea of matching. It's like the viewer is in a rocket ship. Within the painting, on the right side, there is movement. At first we are in the rocket ship going up. Then, coming down, we see the stars, and we come home. Then we can say hello to all the Deaf people. There are different artists. Deaf artists are in this rocket ship, journeying together. We worked individually to show the community. We do not have hearing artists in this show. This is our little cluster. We were calling the show Deaf Shine. I was thinking about space. Like diamonds sparkle, Deaf artists sparkle. When people come, they are going to see it sparkle with the light that illuminates the colors on the different pieces. The world and the rocket ship are taking us on a ride to outer space, moving through the different images on paper and sculptures. You have the opportunity to explore the planets, stars, and comets, and then return to Earth. I want people to feel inspired—to make art, to explore space with me, and to land among my Deaf artists. I want them to experience a quiet and peaceful journey into space. Visually it will be peaceful, but there will be elements of the Earth. There will be movement.This window box curation and installation was supported by Creative Growth Facilitator Madelyn Covey