Testimonial:

I feel a deep kinship with my Kimono (Robe of Peace #9). I believe this stems from the fact that Catherine Foster, the artist, kept in touch with me throughout the creative process by means of her pictures and videos. She responded with great enthusiasm to my request to add American Sign Language which I use to communicate due to my congenital deafness. To this end, she created several beautiful carvings of the finger spelling for the word PEACE and cleverly incorporated them into the Robe. These carvings now show that Deaf people too have the same desire for peace as hearing people who are represented on the Robe by means of a variety of alphabets and ideograms, as well as the Blind represented in Braille.The carvings blend so effectively that it is hard to take one’s eyes off the work. Simply said, the Robe is so beautiful that the colors, design, and Foster’s creativity have me spellbound. Ms. Foster is an artist to be recognized locally, nationally, and internationally.
Deborah Meranski Blumenson
Professor Emeritus, Art History/ Museum Studies
Gallaudet University