Wins International Prize For the Visually Impaired

Yennefer Rodriguez, an East Hampton Middle School student, adores Taylor Swift, is in the school choir, enjoys math, and gets her hands on as many art projects as she can. In fact, her talent for art earned her a winning spot in an international competition, in which only 12 entries out of more than 500 were exhibited in a museum, reproduced on a calendar, and auctioned off to provide prizes for the artists.

Sponsored by the American Printing House for the Blind, the juried competition includes an exhibition of art by visually impaired artists like the cheerful seventh grader.

“Art is my favorite hobby,” Yennefer said in an interview. “I wish I could do artwork all day. I pay a lot of attention to my art.”

For her winning drawing, she twice traced one hand with a special stylus, then traced circles of various sizes overlapping with the outlines of her hand. The stylus was part of a drawing system that creates raised lines, so the artist can feel the spaces between them. She then used crayons, in colors she chose herself, to fill in the lines.

“This project took many days to finish, so it was a lot of work. But I did it all on my own,” Yennifer said.

She received word in October that her drawing  was a winner. She said it made her feel so happy, and used the word “so” six times to emphasize her point.

Yennefer, who is 11 years old, lives in East Hampton with her mother, Basilia Garcia, her father, Jorge Rodriguez, and a brother, Wylly, who is in the 10th grade at East Hampton High School. Through a school translator, Ms. Garcia said, “In general, in light of some of the struggles and problems, this really makes me feel happy.”

 Bill Ahearn, who works with visually impaired students at the middle school through the Eastern Suffolk Board of Cooperative Educational Services, and Laura White, the school psychologist, said Yennefer is able to persevere despite having lost most of her vision over the last few years due to a genetic condition.

“Whoever she is with, whatever she is doing, she is just a ray of sunshine and makes everybody smile and feel happy,” Ms. White said, “and helps us to remember that we may have challenges, but we have to keep going every day and have a positive attitude.”