Clayton Valli’s “Dandelions” ASL poem defined the genre and inspired countless ASL poets. In that poem, the seeds of a dandelion escape destruction — a metaphor for ASL and the culturally Deaf community. With this artwork, the viewer is put in the place of a signer, to express the power and permanence of our language. The placard reads “dandelions” in written ASL, both reflecting Valli’s fingerspelling and signifying the importance of writing our language.