Här följer ett utdrag ur en artikel som inom sinom tid ska översättas men eftersom många efterlyser mer information och stoff om Taktila Färger så ligger den här i originalskick tillsvidare. Linda Bartram som själv är synskadad berättar mycket konkret om sina erfarenheter av Taktila Färger.   TACTILE COLOUR: PLEASE DO TOUCH Linda Bartram, who lives in Victoria, British Columbia, is the NFB:AE's Mentorship Coordinator. (..) " I was first introduced to Tactile Colour through the art show, "Please Touch", which was held in Victoria a few years ago. Before I entered the display area, I was asked to use a handy wipe to clean my hands and was given a tape recorder and headphones, along with operating instructions for the taped narrative. Following this orientation, I was ushered into a darkened room and shown to the first piece of art. I listened to the description of the creation and its creator while I moved my hands, tentatively at first, over the display. I was guided to the next piece, and this time I explored the artwork more boldly. As I moved around the room, I discovered that I was beginning to recognize the different colour textures and was able to interpret what was being depicted more easily. Many of the works were by sighted artists using the medium for the first time, while several of the pieces had been created by individuals who were, like me, blind. As I left the exhibit room full of the excitement of having been given the opportunity to appreciate art in the same way as other patrons, I was asked if I would be interested in participating in a Greeting Cards Workshop. Might this be the opportunity I had been looking for? Might I too be able to scratch my creative itch through Tactile Colour? The workshop was held a few weeks later just before Christmas, so Christmas greeting cards were the order of the day. Sighted volunteers cut out templates, for me an angel, which we taped to the back of the colour of our choice. After cutting carefully around the rigid template with a pair of scissors (I wasn't ready to brave a craft knife yet), we were instructed to peel back a small portion of the Tactile Colour backing and place the shape on the card. Gradually I removed the remainder of the backing and I pressed my angel in place. My pink fuzzy angel needed something else, however, and I decided to try a free-hand cut-out. I don't read music, but I think what I produced was two pairs of black quarter notes. I placed these above my angel and, with a braille greeting inside, my first Christmas card was created. By the end of the workshop, I had two other cards--a set of colourful Christmas bells and a snowman, complete with a black top hat, orange carrot nose and a three dimensional red scarf. I was making art!!! I left the workshop with a set of Tactile Colour sheets and a plan to make several more greeting cards. Since then, I have made various cards, including a thank you card for a volunteer computer instructor who is blind. My next Tactile Colour Workshop was on mapmaking. Sighted mapmakers and blind or vision-impaired participants made tactile textured maps of areas of interest to the blind and vision-impaired participants. We, the participants, were surveyed to determine our criteria for producing the most functional map for our own personal use. This was followed by two or three workshops where the maps were constructed using Tactile Colour with a legend of braille or raised print. For years I had avoided shopping at a certain mall as I, along with several of my sighted shopping companions, found the layout of this mall very confusing. My mapmaking project, therefore, was to reveal the mysteries of this commercial labyrinth through Tactile Colour. Each block of shops was depicted in a different colour, and braille letters were used to identify the individual shops. Two braille legends, which could be cross-referenced, completed the project. Mayfair Mall, here I come!!! My most recent project was a tactile map for a friend who is blind. She was taking a course that involved a four-day retreat at a church camp I had visited on several occasions. Combining my rather sketchy mental map of the main building and its description from a sighted camp-goer, I was able to produce a fairly accurate tactile replica of the floor plan. She was pleased to be able to concentrate on the retreat activities and not on worrying about coming across unfamiliar rooms and passageways." By: Linda Bartram