creative Page

Currently, Ellen is a proud De’Artivist who has combined her twin passions of being a De’VIA (Deaf View/Image Art) artist and Deaf rights advocate. Ellen was born Deaf in Manhattan, New York but grew up in New Jersey for 7 years. She attended public school where she learned poorly without sign language and interpreters. She spent her summers in Golden’s Bridge countryside, north of New York City. Later, she earned a BFA in illustration from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. When she moved to Maryland, Ellen began to recognize just how much her Deaf identity had been emerging from her artwork. Surrounded by Deaf culture and ASL, her life started to blossom and increasingly colorful images grew from her watercolors, oil paintings, tile paintings, tile making and then sculptures. Like many Deaf children, I grew up with non-Deaf (Hearing) parents and so I needed to make my way into the Deaf world to discover who I was as a Deaf person. This was a somewhat perilous journey in which I was denied my natural language (American Sign Language) and pressured to assimilate as a “normal, Hearing” person. Thus, the darkness works show the darkness of audism, that is, being imprisoned by social attitudes that deny Deaf people access to education, employment, to our language and to our being Deaf. Coming into the light of the Deaf community, allowed me to find my own light as a Deaf person—celebrating our language, shared values, our Deaf ancestors, as well as unique ways of being and traveling in the world. The artworks of Light, Deaf identities/Deafhood, Community and Tribute all express affirmation of the Deaf experience. More Info

My Hobbies I like houseplants. I still have the rubber tree plant that I gave it to my mom for her mother’s day. I think it is 40 years old, now. In Winter Season, I like to skiing at the mountains and then in summer season, I like to swim . Other times, I watch films and read novels and art books.

My inspirations Artists who have inspired her include Bette G. Miller, Deaf Feminist/De’VIA Artist, Georgia O’Keefe, Judy Chicago, Louise Bourgeois and May Stevens. Stevens was one of Ellen’s instructors who taught Women’s Art Studies at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

My message for this community My goal is to engage people-- to show how Deaf artists use art to fight for our social and political rights, and how we tell the stories of our journeys to becoming fully authentic Deaf people. It is my wish that this collection will engage people by showing how art can call people to respond to injustices and how it can tell stories our journeys to becoming fully authentic Deaf people and De’VIA artists.

My creative work

The Intersectional American Deafhood (ceramics tiles, sculpture hand,glazes,size circle 22'') 4th Mandala: The hand sculpture is "America" in American Sign Language. Along with dark blue glass beads represents a diversity of 33 Deaf babies that are born every day. We are Deaf American with intersectionality included genders, races, ethnicity, religious belief, age, ability, and socioeconomic status. And plus our deaf identity in the complex web of identities along deaf parents, hearing parents, siblings, relatives, and going on. The sun hands acknowledged the diversity of Deaf people in America have their own identities. We are proud to be stand under bright sun. Let sun shines on us.

Ellen Mansfield

A must-have book for families of children with disabilities.