The Mirror of Nitocris
- THE MIRROR OF NITOCRIS - A scratchboard drawing, size 8.5 x 11. It appears in the book, "The Compleat Crow," by Brian Lumley, published by Ganley in 1987.
I've heard it said many times that a picture is worth a thousand words. And that's true of course when you want to know what something, or someone "looks" like. But sometimes, looking at a picture is not enough . . .
Suppose this picture was a portrait of a famous woman, and let's pretend that you never heard of her. Helen Keller is her name. Looking at her portrait would mean very little to you because you don't know her and the picture doesn't tell you anything about her. So I will; she was a very special lady who was born in 1880. And just one year and seven months after she was born an illness made her completely deaf and blind.
For that brief span of time she knew the joy of seeing and hearing the world around her, and then, when the illness struck . . . being aware that she was alive, but in total silence, and complete darkness. How did that little girl deal with such a fearful thing?
And then a "Miracle Worker" came along, Anne Sullivan, who used the "sense of touch" to communicate with Helen. She taught her to "feel" words that she spelled out with finger strokes in Helen's palm and was able to relate those touch-words to things and ideas. She became Helen's teacher and life-long companion. It was a long and challenging learning experience that eventually enabled Helen to attend college. She became the first deaf-blind person, ever, to earn a college degree. Though she was unable to hear or see anything for the rest of her life, Helen Keller went on to live a productive and rewarding life only by "feeling" it. How awesome is that! She died in 1968 at the age of 88.
That portrait of Helen Keller? . . . It tells you nothing. It takes a thousand words to make you see what a picture never can.
Feel Free to add your Comments about this Artwork
Please do not abuse this feature or it will be removed, Keep it clean, keep it classy, keep it respectful