“Every child is an Artist” – Picasso. Nancy also started drawing and painting at age six without her parents knowing that she was born Deaf. She pursued painting during school year and earned a master’s degree in computer graphic design and painting. She worked as a graphic artist for 20 years but found her true passion as a De’VIA (Deaf View/Image Art) Artist. De’VIA is based on deaf experience and expresses them in art using themes in affirmation, resistance and liberation. She was honored as a recipient of the Edmund Lyon Memorial Lectureship Award at Rochester Institute of Technology New York. She has also received an award from Puffin Foundation.

Do you think Art is one of the best way of communication? Do you remember any incidence from your childhood days where art helped you to communicate your feelings?N:  Absolutely! art is one the best way of communication. Yes, I remember vividly, when I did a drawing with my hands cuffed and chained and one finger becomes a pencil and no mouth on my face. This was my way of expressing my frustration in school where I wanted to be in a Deaf school with all access to visual sign language. This was a message I was trying to show to others.

Can you describe your journey as a graphic designer from Xerox to Microsoft to full time artist?N: I survived through out the years working as a graphic designer at big name corporations where there’s barriers everywhere, until I was laid off. This was when I started to get burnt out and switched to becoming a full time painter. It was the right time. I knew down the road that I would one day become a full time artist.

Can you tell us about your involvement in De’VIA (Deaf View/Image Art)?N: I got into De’VIA (Deaf View/Image Art) in 2009 after reading a book Understanding Deaf Culture in Search of Deafhood, by Paddy Ladd. That was when it hit me hard, searching for my own Deafhood, and decided to paint Deaf art. The first year in my De’VIA journey, I was exploring my own Deaf experience by being discriminated or oppressed by co-workers in a pre-dominiated hearing world, being colonized from deaf oral school where sign language was not allowed to use. That first year, I expressed everything in painting, to show the truths on what had happened to me. Then after a year long exploring, I felt it was time to go on to the next level. Most De’VIA artists did their own exploration and expression in art for about a year. Some took longer and some never finished exploring. It all varied among De’VIA artists. That next level for me, I started to explore and study about the Deaf community and what was happening out there. De’VIA is based on Deaf experience and express them in art using themes in affirmation, resistance and liberation.

You have got plenty of awards and recognition. Which award is closest to you heart and why?N: I think all awards are close to me. Perhaps the biggest award is going to Deaf schools to teach Deaf children and youth about De’VIA. Another biggest award, is teaching Art teachers on De’VIA curriculum and how to develop new lesson plans for Deaf schools.

Do you think artist art can be influenced by their own life events? If yes, did your art get influenced by any particular event?N: Yes, my art get influenced by many certain events. One example, by 28 Day in February Challenge. I picked a theme, and had people joined with me for the entire month to work on De’VIA artworks. The turnout went huge.

Can you tell us more about your painting series “Right to Be Deaf”?N: The Right to be Deaf, was part of the activism I was in, and truth to be told was to be shown as many of them were hidden and never talked about. This is an ongoing project.

Who is your favorite artist and which painting do you like the most and why?N: I have many favorite artists. I like artists who are ARTIST and ACTIVIST, and they share their rights. I admire Jacob Lawrence for his civil rights movement, as well as Jean Michel Basquiat. I also admire many of Matt Sesow’s paintings as he shows his expression with no arm and stitches. All of them use vivid colors. I think we are in the same parallel with similar activism. This is why I like them so much.

What are your other hobbies?N: I love to sit down and discuss on many different topics with Deaf artists where we brainstorm for art ideas. I love to cook and be with my family.

How can art play an important role for our special children?N: Expressing your own Deaf experience in art, is art therapy. It brings out very important message where it is freedom to express. It is a healing process.

Any special message for our community?N: If you see something and you want to express them in art, do it. Always remember that there is no right or wrong in art.

Enjoy Nancy's favorite artwork - “ARTivism” - 30 inch by 40 inch oil on canvas 2015. This painting was showcased in Washington DC and in Chicago.