Category: 2021

My dictionary is a collection of lessons from my teachers’ instruction in American Sign Language. As a resource for others, I felt it essential to include the two separate ways to sign the numbers 1 to 5 with the context for each use. I have cartoons of Gallaudet and Clerc to title the Alphabet, so I used code-driven robots to handle the numbers. I have the left and right-handed cybernetic men signing my first challenge in learning ASL numbers, the number 3. It took me some time to unlearn and abandon the three middle fingers used in the UK, USA, and Canada for the two fingers and thumb of ASL, France, Spain, and Germany. Learning the hand sign for 3 came from France also explains its use in French sign language (LSL) and the language born from its study, ASL.

In editing my ASL Dictionary, I updated the hand sign for Story by drawing a new cartoon of Canadian author, Mr. Robert Munsch. I am a big fan of his books and have designed posters for this storyteller’s appearance at the Village of Riverside Glen. This time I drew a cartoon of a younger him, placing my illustrations of some of his famous children’s stories behind him. When drawing cartoons of actual people, I also try to send them a copy of their cartoon image with an explanation of the dictionary I put it in. Two years ago, I printed out the Story hand sign and mailed it to the storyteller who inspired the cartoon, Mr. Robert Munsch. I hope he liked it.

ASL Word of the Day, THROW My good friend Stasia Van Buskirk inspired me to learn the ASL sign for Throw when she asked me how to sign Axe throwing. After researching several dictionaries and video lessons, I drew my cartoon hard copy of the word. I would have posted the hand sign sooner if not for my hard drive crashing and taking the finished picture with it. Now that Memofix Data Recovery has retrieved my ASL artwork, I can finally answer her question.

With the data on my broken hard drive finally retrieved, I could return to finish the cover art for My ASL Dictionary‘s Facebook page. Keeping the hand signs for Canada, Province, and Ontario, I added ASL hand signs specific to the Canada region, like Pants, Hospital, Candy, Orange, and Money. I also removed Toronto from the cover to slip in the hand sign for my hometown of Guelph behind Province and Hospital.

 

ASL Word of the Day, Hope. As I was hoping in a previous post, Memofix retrieved most of the data lost on my broken hard drive. I now have access to the PowerPoint Presentation file I used to make my dictionary with the past seven years of cartoon ASL illustrations. As promised, I now post the alternative hand sign for HOPE in celebration. Almost losing my original work was both a frightening and expensive lesson in data storage.

 

The next hand sign on my list was Makeup. Unfortunately, each dictionary and video posting I went to showed a different version. I’m grateful that fingerspelling is always an option.

Drawing the ASL hand sign for Bridge was tricky. Each resource I went to would show a different position for the opposite arm and its hand. I finally went with my teacher’s instruction, and instead of drawing a fist, I placed the hand flat with the palm down. For the cartoon illustration, I looked for a character with an infamous moment on a bridge. I chose Clarence, the helpful angel from It’s a Wonderful Life who stopped George Bailey from his planned suicide attempt by jumping off the bridge first so George could rescue him, saving them both. Covering him in the snow of his first appearance, I also gave Clarence a ringing bell as a lapel to give him his wings. 

The other ASL hand sign for Everything, refers to all that pertains to a specific subject. Ex. My new phone has everything on it. Keeping with the original inspiration for everything I drew a cartoon of the most flamboyantly dressed singer of The Village People, the Indian American. My dictionary has cartoon illustrations of Native Americans in the signs for Aboriginal, Medicine Hat, and Halifax. I based the details in their outfits on photographs of traditional garb, so I wanted the new cartoon to have a stronger connection to the band than the native culture. I followed the details of his simple costume, choosing the outfit’s brighter colors, and attached the YMCA text to the feathers of his headdress.

 

While working on drawing the ASL image for Each, I ran into problems illustrating the knuckles brushing down against the opposite hand. To get a better visual of the movement of the dominant hand, I put down my drawing pad and signed Each in front of the mirror. Unfortunately, what I should have done is also put down my pencil. As my right knuckles quickly brushed downward, they drove the tip of the mechanical pencil down into the heel of my left hand!
I screamed in pain as I dropped the pencil and looked down at possibly the only American Sign Language Injury in existence. Luckily the cut wasn’t as deep as it felt, but it still took a few weeks to heal. While it should be obvious to never sign with your hands full, I was an artist focused on my work and had to learn this painful lesson firsthand.
To better illustrate the story, I took the  ASL cartoon hand sign for Each from the dictionary, adding the mechanical pencil and shocked facial expression. Needless to say, even now, signing the word Each still makes my hands nervous. True Story.

This year Hands On Travel placed a Facebook posting by local travel guide Alexis, who showed the proper way to sign France (the same sign for both American Sign Language and Langue des signes français). Sign language has always been more than just text. Each word visually illustrates a story. Knowing the history makes it easier to understand and harder to forget. When I went to add this information to my notes, I noticed a small error in my ASL cartoon for France with the dominant hand positioned a little too close to the face. I updated the 2013 picture and placed it beside the hints I got from Alexis’ lesson, including the tradition of the French handkerchief.