Black History Month in Tanzania

Myself and Karen Grissette at the U.S. Emabassy Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Two years ago this month, I had the awesome experience of sharing the history of Black History Month(as celebrated in the U.S.) at the U.S. Embassy Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Never thought in a million years that my journey would take me to such a place or that such an opportunity would present itself. Originally, was instructed to prepare for a 15 minute presentation(there were others on the program) but after arriving at the embassy in Dar for our initial meeting I found out that I was the presentation and they were asking about my artwork(which I hadn't brought on the trip)....like the deodorant commercial says..."never let them see you sweat".

Marie Cidosa, Director Bagamoyo Living Art Centre

Students from the local university in attendance

With the help of my husband who was so willing to fish through my unorganized computer files and send photos of my artwork and my children who remain my greatest cheerleaders(they gave me a crash course in powerpoint presentations prior to my departure for Tanzania) I was able to create a presentation which not only addressed Black Hiistory Month but my evolvement as an artist as well.

Years ago as a young girl scout I learned that one should always be prepared! You just never know where the next stop on your journey will take you.

Ihumwa Village Potters

 

Ihumwa village potters

 During my 2010  travels as a U.S. State Department delegate for the Women's Arts Exchange with Tanzania(led by Martin Nagy, Director of the Great Lakes Arts Council in Toledo), I had the experience of my life when taken to to meet "some of the best potters in Tanzania." My time with the Ihumwa village potters outside of Dodoma, Tanzania turned out to be my National Geographic moment! I remember sitting on a small stool outside of a traditional mud home with all the women's incredible pottery laid out before us. Two cows were tied up in a pen directly behind me, all the children stood encircling us and through our translator the following incredible story began to unfold.

What an awesome welcome by the women

With my first look at the fruit of these incredible potters I was immediately struck by the perfect symmetry. Initially, our delegation leader thought that a potters wheel must have been used. But after a barrage of questions one of the women indicated that she would demonstrate their pot making process for us. To my amazement in less than fifteen minutes a perfect pot had been formed before our very eyes... what an incredible sight this was!

The demonstration begins

Adding water to dried clay

Tools...corn cob, paper and stone

Building wall of pot

Using corn cob tool

Almost complete...

 

One of the things I learned was that each woman walks eight miles in order to collect the clay from a nearby riverbed. Then each woman would wrap about fifty pounds of clay in their khanga cloth(a popular textile worn by many women in Tanzania as skirts, head wraps and even to carry their babies in) which was then wrapped around their necks so that the weight was evenly distributed across their shoulders. Next the clay would be left to dry completely, sifted of rocks and other impurities and eventually reconstituted with water for pottery building. The pots are fired on top of the ground which accounts for the beautifully blackened patches that dot the surfaces. of the finished pieces.

Finishing the lid

Completed pottery of the village women

 

"IT'S TIME TO SHARE"

Well, was beginning to think that if I didn't start writing soon I would need to hang up my keyboard and shut down the old blog site. But the fact that I'm here pounding the keys means it's time to share my journey.

In January of 2010 I was blessed to travel to East Africa as a member of the 3rd U.S. delegation participating in an incredible exchange program with Tanzania. "ARTS EXCHANGES ON INTERNATIONAL ISSUES FOR TANZANIA"
was funded by the U.S. Department of State Cultural Program Division of the Office of Citizen Exchanges, in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, organized by the Great Lakes Consortium for International Training and Development(GLC) in cooperation with Arts Council Lake Erie West and GLC Alumni partners in Tanzania. The goal of the program was to bring together emerging Tanzanian and Northwest Ohio professional female artists to address common issues facing women.

The photo above shows two incredible wood sculptors, Harrieth and Neema who live in Bagamoya and are part of the Bagamoya Womens Art Network(BWAN).

Had the pleasure of first meeting them in a workshop I led at the Ohio Craft Museum, while they were visiting the U.S. as members of the Tanzanian artists exchange.

My journey took me primarily along the coast of Tanzania, which is bordered by the Indian Ocean with it's amazingly beautiful beaches and abundance of fishermen.

I look forward to sharing more photos and stories of my time inTanzania and the wonderful people and culture.

God Bless,

Wendy

Tanzanian Artists Workshop

Well, it's been some time since I was able to write on the ole' blog. There's tons of things to talk about, but will first address an awesome teaching experience.

On October 15, 2009, it was my pleasure to teach a workshop on "Fabric and Words" at the Ohio Craft Museum here in town. This was a special class held exclusively for 14 women artists delegates from Tanzania, visiting the U.S. More on this later. It was exciting when ten minutes into the class the room became filled with these pure in sound voices as the women broke into spontaneous song in order to "get in the mood to create". We ended up painting on carpentry aprons from Lowes hardware(they were inexpensive and provided a good surface for the acrylics we used). I'm always looking for my tools and pencils while working in the studio and often wear a full apron with pockets. When I saw these gems I immediately knew that their 78 cents price tag was perfect.
The room was filled with an "artists hum" as the women exchanged ideas and kept up with the ususal chatter we're good for.

An awesome exchange it was indeed, for several reasons. One how many opportunities do you get to sit and make art with women from another country/culture, right in your own backyard? Secondly,the women taught me the importance of addressing issues of concern through their created pieces, which led to the third point. The important issues that had been swirling in my mind and heart for some time needed to be released and allowed to take form through my art. Here I stood again, thinking it was about me pouring into them but I truly received just as much from my sisters from Tanzania...and I was glad to be able to share that with them!