"Bones" is a poem about hearing loss and the beauty of that no different than the hearing capability. Translated it into ASL.

Enjoy!


“Bones”

Curved bones
In pure enamel
Deep inside
The ears,
Sea shells sing
Ocean waves
In micro-size.

Beautiful
As
They should be
Like
Organic ornaments opened
To absorb
The sounds.

Yet some are
Fractured,
The cracks
That
Cool, cut, crucify
Cacophonies’ magic.
The sounds
Are
Censured!

But beauty
Carries inside
Their ears.
Silence spreads smoothly.
Quiet as still water.
Calm as the moon.

My Performance for Def Meets Deaf Poetry Jam ll

I performed my two poems in ASL titled "Honeymoon" and "Nightlife" along my original composed electronic music at Lovin' Cup for Def Meets Deaf Poetry Jam ll on Feb. 6h 2010. My work turned out a success with the music and ASL poetry together, which I have been playing around for a few years since I began experimenting the idea. In the photos, you would notice my Mac laptop sitting on the tall chair on stage with the two speakers. The speakers are M-Audio system and it is connected to M-Audio device sitting below my laptop computer. This helps the speakers and my laptop communicate with each other without problems. The speakers are remarkable with sound quality and etc. The equipment costed almost $1,000.00, bought at House of Guitars downtown Rochester, NY. I use GarageBand software in my Mac computer to create the electronic music and the Mac's built-in microphone to record my voice when reciting my poems.

Here are two poems for you to read:

“Honeymoon”

A snow-white frosting
Hugs the lovers’ lips.
It turns into sugared butterflies,
Glistening under the sun.
Melt their wings,
Rested on their sweetened lips.
Rose-colored tongues taste
The honeyed flavor.

The moon turns gold at dusk,
Bathing the roses and the dews,
Ready for the night of romance.
The enraptured lovers gracefully
Walk out, rice-spilled.
Painted amber-colored by the moon,
They split for the rose-tinted paradise
Out on the outskirts of the town.

In their secret temple,
Honey drips, one by one,
Down to their flesh.
Red roses blossom
Around their ecstasy-filled minds,
High with saturated love.
Vanilla flakes flutter down to their bed,
Snow-like,
Rich enough to scintillate their tender hearts.

Stars shimmer above
And they glisten down to their eyes, starry-eyed.
The vines entwine them.
Dawn arises during their sleep.
Sweet lullabies sing in their slumbering dreams.
Sunlight warms their flesh,
Asking where the roses are.
Soon the roses open their petals
In their eyes, awakened.
A sweet taste still lingers on their lips
With a kiss, the truth of love glows between them.


"Nightlife"

Radiating rainbow halo hovered above DJ Jon Herbert's head.
Supersonic speeding electronic tunes bombarded our blood and bones in the crowd,
captivating our overnight dreams, ever lasting, ever amazed.

My inner spirit shimmered like a light that stays on through the night.
Moved my whole prudent presence, surrounded by the beauty of gay men
and free-spirited people, ever connected, ever new.

Pushed and pulled myself until all spun up through the glittery nightlife.
Friends and strangers wriggled and writhed beneath the majestic magical lights,
all bathed in brilliant rainbow hues, ever majestic, ever bright.

Wondered all always would I still dance when I become an old man?
Dreamed upon Andy Warhol whirling wildly among the dancing crowds at nightclubs,
an old man that didn't rock on the chair.
I shall sizzle and sashay with pride as long as I can in the rainbow lights,
ever blissful, ever sustained.

Dance through nightlife.
Dance through nightlife.

Def Meets Deaf Poetry Jam ll Flier

I took the time to create this flier for Def Meets Deaf Poetry Jam ll in PhotoShop. I got the book from the Internet and changed the style, composition, and so forth. I used PhotoBooth software in my Mac laptop and took a photo shot of my two hands. I then used PhotoShop to change the look. I then just put my hands and the book together and that was it. Simple and quick.

Def Meets Deaf Poetry Jam ll is the second performance event for this year. Last year, Def Meets Deaf Poetry Jam was a success. John Roche was the collaborator of the event last year. This year, he and I are collaborating, together, for this year. There will be deaf/hard of hearing performers and hearing performers taking turns on stage from 2-5 pm. There will be an open mic to follow for anyone who may want to jump on stage and do the skits. This event will be interpreted for the hearing and deaf audience.

Patrcik Graybill is a renown deaf actor/poet for years. He was one of the actors in NTD Theatre back in the 60's-70's. Reenah Golden and her group of teens were featured poets on HBO, doing the poetry jam, a few years ago. She will bring the group over to this event as well. Jeremy Quiroga is a well-respected artist, actor, and poet for many years. He was featured in Miriam Lerner's "The Heart of the Hydrogen Jukebox" film. Della Gorelick has been an amazing actress and performer for a long time since I discovered her acting role as a deaf survivor in Patricia Durr's "Meta" production. Luane Davis Haggerty is a singer, actress, and theater director for many years. She was a former co-founder of Interborough Repertory Theatre (IRT) in NY City and IRT is still running for more than 20 years. David Baughman is an active actor/performer at NTID theatre for a while and a truly amazing talent. Grace Flores is a well-respected poet in the city of Rochester and so is Lori Nolasco, well-known by many. John Roche is a poet and a professor at RIT's Liberal Arts department, teaching poetry.

Come, come on over and see the show. Spread the words.

Completed "LIttle Women" Lobby Display

I finally completed the largest lobby display I have ever done. Three 7 foot tall plywood boards, attached by hinges, are now standing in the hallway in Lyndon Baines Johnson Building at NTID (National Technical Institute for the Deaf). It took 3 people to bring this project out into the hallway, for it was heavy and awkward to carry.

The production is directed by Luane Davis Haggerty. "Little Women", originally written by Louisa May Alcott, will open on these days, free to the public:

Jan 21-23 at 7:30 p.m.
Jan 24 at 2:00 p.m.


Room 1510 Lab Theatre is a small theatre space with few seats available. Suggest to attend early to get the seats. Spread the word and come see the show.

"Future" Painting

I found a tinfoil-covered piece of wood in the basement below my apartment. I used the piece for an exhibit a while ago and it has not been used. I decided to pick that up and do the painting on it. I used fluorescent paint. The images you're seeing are showing high technologies that will be used more and may happen in the future that deaf and hard of hearing people would rely on for communication capabilities. All of the images were from my head. None of them came from magazines or the Internet, or anything. I used Cubist style kind of painting to show the forms, shapes, and structures of the faces, bodies, and technology devices. After the paintings were completed, I drilled and then screwed in that enables the black light to be attached onto the top part of the piece. When turning the black light on, the images with fluorescent paint glow. This effect shows the high-tech feel or look in the work.

Another "Little Women" Lobby Display

Here is the other third plywood board of the woman for "Little Women" theatrical production at National Technical Institute for the Deaf, showing a woman writing. Found on Internet, printed it out, xeroxed it into transparent paper, and then projected it onto the plywood board. Traced the image with pencil and then painted it in acrylic paint. I also used a sponge to create the texture background. I also typed the title and the writer's name with a font chosen from PhotoShop and did the same process except I used a thick black marker to do the title and writer's name.

"Little Women" Lobby Display Project

I created this two large plywood boards of the lobby display for National Technical Institute for the Deaf's upcoming "Little Women" theatrical production. I found the pictures of the women in the Internet, printed them out, xeroxed them into transparent papers, then projected them onto the boards. Used pencil to trace the images, then painted them in acrylic paint. I used Cubist style kind of painting to show the forms, shapes, and structures of the women's bodies/faces. There is one more large plywood board that will be added to these two.