L. P. Skeen on mon 29 mar 04
or mug or other pot?
If you saw Billie Mitchell's slide presentation at NCECA, you're =
familiar with the Indian Church Village Artisans group, which she =
visited for 2 weeks awhile back. If you didn't see her presentation, =
you can go here to see a website that tells a little about the place and =
the people: http://www.beyondtouring.com/Community/community_icva.htm
The Indian Church Village Artisans is a non-government-related =
organization. The group got a grant from the British High Commission =
and built an Art Center/Hurricane Shelter for their village (which has =
no electricity) in 2002. The center is now complete, and they need =
instructors to go down and teach the folks how to make pottery, which =
will then be sold to tourist stores in Belize. This will help the =
villagers raise their standard of living. It's sorta like that saying =
about teaching a man to fish so he can have food forever.....
My friend Leanne Pizio (a Clayart lurker) and I had told Billie before =
NCECA that we were willing to make the trip down to Belize. Now I hear =
you thinking to yourselves, "Belize? That'll be a vacation!". Well, =
it's NOT a vacation. Those folks have to dig their own clay by hand, =
slake it down and run it through sieves to remove rocks/debris, and dry =
it out to work with it. There's no electricity, so it's all =
handbuilding except for one or maybe two kickwheels. No electricity =
also means no hot showers, no fans or AC, no cold beer (sorry Vince!) =
and no ice. We'll be bathing in the river and sleeping with mosquito =
netting to keep the tarantulas outta the bed. (Now THAT's a =
vacation....not!)
We are planning several fundraisers for this, because we need to raise =
about $3000 to get both of us down there and back. We're also seeking =
corporate sponsorships in our area (or anywhere else, for that matter). =
To that end, I'm following Billie's lead and asking for the help of =
other Clay folks.
If you're willing to help us out with our fundraising effort by sending =
a bowl, mug, or other clay object that we can auction or sell outright, =
please send me an email (I don't want to post my address to a public =
list) and I'll send you the postal address. Here is my email address: =
lpskeen@living-tree.net . In addition to pots for fundraisers, we're =
accepting donations of tools for the ICVA arts center - they don't have =
many.
Please feel free to share this information with anyone you think might =
be interested in helping out, and Thanks in advance for your help!
L. P. Skeen www.living-tree.net
Living Tree Pottery, Summerfield, NC
"There are three kinds of men. The ones who learn by reading, and the =
few who learn by observation. The rest of them have
to pee on the electric fence."------- Will Rogers (att.)
Jaqart Studio on wed 31 mar 04
Excellent to hear you are Belize bound, Lisa. Will it be the January '05
trip that you are planning for? I've been playing around with the idea of
going then, too. Who knows..... And no beer, but there is Rum. I got
one little taste of that Pinapple concoction, and it was Rummy!
Peace,
Pamela
~jaq
ps.......Glad we finally met.
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