Oh I do Love to be Beside the Seaside

Some photos from yesterday evening at Reduit Beach, in front of Bay Gardens Beach Hotel, St. Lucia - taken with friends as we watched the sun play with the water before it headed West past our horizons

Golden Seas

Bubbling

Golden Sands

Golden Skies

Soft Seas at Sunset

 Very often, I'll enhance my photos to bring out the feeling I had when taking them - I like to see what art I can draw out of or add in to photographic images - and I'll probably do the same with some of these, but for now, they're all as they came out of the camera - as nature presented itself yesterday - enjoy!

Soft steel

Cool gold

 

Angel Pink White

If you'd like to use or repost or pin my images for non-commercial use - please put a link back to my blog and credit me properly thanks! If you'd like to use for a commercial purpose, please contact me for a watermark free image and pricing thanks!

Soapmaking Workhsops

Some of the soaps - de-ee-lish!!

I love handmade soaps - I've been making my own for about 15 years now and recently, a bunch of my friends have been asking if I'd teach them how...so I decided to do a little Intro to Soapmaking class one Satruday...Well, the response has been overwhelming!!! I have run two full workshops the last couple weekends and plan to do one or two this coming weekend too!

They've been a blast! A real mix of people attending - Spa managers, teachers, fellow designers, curious adventurers! And last weekend we were joined by the writer of a great new blog - Island Scene 758 - a blog highlighting all the happenings in St. Lucia - with a growing calendar of events so you will know in advance what's interesting to do and not just after the fact about the things you missed! Take a look at the post about the Soapmaking Workshop here

lining the moulds

Interested? Drop me a line - just $75 EC for a fun and info-filled few hours!

To Everything its Season

Mount Gimie in the Dry Season sunset yesterday

Sitting watching the gray skies above the yellow-dry grass this morning, willing the rain to fall - the met office rainfall records for the past how many days have remained the same;


"24 HOUR RAINFALL ENDED AT 2:00 PM AT HEWANORRA............NIL.
                                  AT GFL CHARLES..........NIL.       
TOTAL RAINFALL FOR THE MONTH THUS FAR AT HEWANORRA.....1.6 MM.
                                      AT GFL CHARLES...0.7 MM."

We could really do with some rain...but there's always something else that is good for the season

Yesterday I was drawn outside by the sound of bees...bees! Finally! I've been slowly (very slowly) becoming a beekeeper over the last year and have become very aware of the complete lack of bees in my yard - where the thyme, always flowering, would always be busy with bees, it has remained silent this year or so...so when I heard that familiar buzz, I went outside to look up to the tree and sure enough, the bees had come.

They were there with the birds too - lots of hummingbirds, lots of banana birds

But the gray skies kept their rain

So this morning again, the bees were buzzing, so I went out to see them and realized of course, the earth, dry and shrinking, would surely yield up some rocks...here's what I found

'Moon Rock'

4 Quartz pieces picked up under the Flambouyant Tree

3 Jaspers (ish) 

Look at that colour!

I'd still like those clouds to drop the good stuff for us, but to everything its season

Perhaps one day soon I'll have my bees in the back yard making honey, my rocks on the lathe transforming to jewelry and my kiln turning the earth into vessels, beads, shapes and textures full of stories

Leaf Art

Leaf Art too

Flower from the tree the bees are visiting

Dusty Final Reports - a Feature of Arts & Crafts Development

This article was third in the series I think, but I didn't link to it here, so I'm posting it now and hope you'll enjoy and leave your thoughts too!

Raku glazed traditional pottery - FAO/ Ministry of Agriculture Craft Packaging for Agro-Industries Training

Some people may wonder why, when we finally have a Ministry Department that is specifically dedicated to developing the ‘Creative Industries’ I’m ‘complaining’ about what hasn’t been done…well, yes, it is –hopefully- great that we have this department, but I know many people in my part of the Creative Industries are not holding their collective breath. I’ve had people tell me things like “I went to one of those consultation meetings and it felt like all they were interested in was getting a Rihanna so they could rake in the taxes” Now, granted, I wasn’t at that meeting, I didn’t make it to any of them, and though I did get to speak to the consultant anyway, I’m still concerned; I know many of us worry that our less glamorous arena will be left still to struggle for itself.

You see, it comes back to last week’s issue with the concept of what Creative Products are – or as we call more commonly call them ‘Arts & Crafts’. We think of these as low-income activities that mostly are done by persons who couldn’t succeed in academics, persons who want to just do a little thing and are generally not very professional, can’t run a business, etc.

It was put to me by one of my peers that “…’they’ really don't understand that the (local) music is primarily a local product; It doesn't export readily. Art & crafts export very easily and are able to reach other markets immediately, as we are ready.” In thinking about it, I thought there certainly is some local music that is ready to export, and these days with digital files, they can export super-easy… but that’s it for true, ‘they’ just don’t see the huge potential and much wider availability of ready and almost export ready product in the Arts & Crafts…we’re ready, and those that are not yet, there are relatively easy paths to making them ready … quickly. We even (maybe just with a little updating) have the plans…

Decorative Honey Pots waiting to be fired - Irene Alphonse

 A little history: In 1992 when I was the Craft Development Office in the Ministry of Community Development, I inherited several boxes of reports on an OECS project funded by FEDEAU – years of study upon study of potentially lucrative businesses in arts and crafts…all those reports did was gather dust. In 1997, I was asked to draft a plan for developing the ‘crafts industry’ to submit for STABEX (EU) funding: I did this with NRDF, FRC, SEDU involved, but it was, rightly, I believe, set aside for reconsideration under the bigger umbrella of the Heritage Tourism Project. In 1999, this project brought in a consultant, Annu Ratta, who spent six months doing the research, data collection, projections, etc and wrote up a full proposal. It had mostly the same elements as our original one – why? Because they were sound elements, the plan was based on knowledge of what was needed. It is still largely relevant…but the only ‘actions’ that have happened since are more meetings, consultations and a smattering of small, disjointed projects that barely scrape the surface and leave recipients momentarily excited and then dumbfounded when they realize all the infrastructure and institutional support they need to grow and succeed, just isn’t there and despite being recommended in the copious ‘Final Reports’ is never implemented. We need cohesive development.

Students dying Pandanus at FAO/Min of Agri training

So, to end, let me share an inkling of the size of this industry in St. Lucia …no comprehensive survey has been done so we have to gather and interpret incidental information:  A recent survey put practicing artisans in Choiseul, at just under 200; when I had shops I easily had 100 suppliers, of whom only a few were from Choiseul; In the last year or so, I’ve trained about 50 persons I did not previously know were artisans, there are another 20 or so in the Dennery Mabouya valley area, many in Babonneau and surrounds; each village has a handful or more, not to mention the numbers of people who make and sell crochet, dolls, fashion designers, photographers selling prints, painters, sculptors, jewelry makers, shoemakers…even from the above, you can readily assume there are over 500 individuals currently making part or all of their living from ‘Arts & Crafts’. I feel strongly that if you really made an effort to count, you’d find many more that do, did or wish to. This sector, treated right, could employ two, three or more times this amount and as I’ll talk about next week, provide value to St. Lucia far beyond the dollar earned. This sector needs a concerted focus for development.

And don’t forget, please, leave your comments, ask questions, get involved! Your input really counts!

The Appeal of Slow Fashion and Practical Things

I'm hoping that readers will pop over to the St. Lucia Voice Newspaper site and read and comment there - let them know the articles are being read!

http://www.thevoiceslu.com/cannels/2013/january/05_01_13/The_Appeal.htm

http://www.thevoiceslu.com/cannels/2013/january/12_01_13/Practical.htm

Keep tuned - and please do give your thoughts and opinions - if you'd like to do so off the public site - email me at island.effect@yahoo.com

Freedom Through Expression

There is an independence about being an artist; artisan; crafter; designer; entrepreneur – you make your own living, you make your own decisions, take your risks and some would say, tend to be less bound by many of the social ‘norms’. There’s a Facebook poster that goes around once in a while and it apparently quotes Queen Victoria; it says “Beware of Artists, they mix with all classes of society and are therefore the most dangerous”. There is something about expressing yourself – whether it be visual art, literature, articles like this or poems, song, dance – all of them – that bestows a freedom on the artist. Sometimes that is revered, but sometimes it is also feared by those who don’t have that freedom, or who don’t understand it. Should it be allowed? What is the value or conversely, the danger to society of this artistic freedom…thinking outside ‘the box’, reshaping boundaries and redefining normal?  

Kaftan by SonJ's Wearable Art for CD Cover for Shirley Ann Cyril-Mayers

We can, if we make a diligent effort to collect information, get a statistical value for the Creative Industries or any section there-of; granted, artists are notoriously hard to pin down, don’t always keep records, far less, accurate records and often operate ‘under the radar’ when it comes to taxes. Why is that? Is it that we, the artists don’t want to pay our dues? I know there is reluctance to reveal information for sure, but I think it is more rooted in misunderstanding of ‘what’s in it for me?’ There is a fear that we might appear to be ‘alright’ and no-longer receive assistance perhaps. This begs the question, what is ‘alright’? And for artists/artisans, I get the impression we are expected to be happy being ‘starving artists’ or at least living a meagre life somehow, as though the gratification we get from the ‘freedom’ of our chosen career should compensate us when we can’t pay the rent on time or can’t go to that fete or take a holiday because the income just isn’t there.

So, that tide is changing, there is no doubt about it; when I speak to my peers, they want to be on the books, want to be operating as a ‘real’ business, want to know they can take a couple weeks off for a holiday and things will be fine even without a ‘real job’.  And this is where we ALL need to be – Government, Artist, Consumer – we need to get to grips with the FACT that being an artist IS a ‘real job’!

So, if even just as a ‘real job’ sector, there needs to be appropriate support and planning for the healthy development of the industry; subjects covered in schools, departments properly equipped and supplied with materials for learning; tertiary and certificate learning; facilities for growing and running business; purpose built facilities for training, display, sale, administration, etc – and, accept that the nature of this business is specific and has specific requirements and seek and follow the counsel of experts in the field.

Handmade sandals by Claudius Edgar

But aside from the very real potential to earn significant amounts of local dollars and foreign exchange, provide substantial employment through staffing and creation of new businesses, and improve the diversity of product to support our tourism product and industry, there is another invaluable aspect to the Creative Industries and Arts & Crafts/Creative Goods are no exception: The development of a creative thinking, problem solving, appropriate solution finding, healthily able to express society. This is a reality.

I remember at a Visual Arts Teachers meeting around 2006 or 7, the Ministry official saying that the World Bank had identified the lack of teaching of the arts from Primary School level as the root cause of the problem with the island being able to come up with appropriate solutions for all aspects of life, planning, commerce, engineering etc. Now that just stuck with me, because I think, if we are honest, we can’t deny that we have ‘built’ some pretty inappropriate systems and infrastructures over the years and we seem caught in a repeating cycle of the same mistakes over and over again – another popular Facebook poster comes to mind; Einstein “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again.” 

Art and creativity exist not just for their own sakes, but as the foundations for useful thinking, the catalysts for appropriate action, the fashioning of the heart and soul of a Nation, giving depth to life and opportunities for real and rewarding careers to many that suffer from not being able to find a place within the limitations of mainstream business and the halls of the Civil Service.

Department of Creative Industries, you have a tall order to fill and the potential to achieve unprecedented positive change for our island nation.

Looshan Expressions T-shirt and CWAD Crochet Wrap

Join in the discussion – post your thoughts and comments below and come see my other activities at facebook.com/islandeffect and islandeffect.blogspot.com or email me your thoughts at island.effect@yahoo.com

What We Will Lose

When I was in College studying for my Degree in Crafts, I chose to do an option that allowed me to write a ‘thesis’ – I came back to St. Lucia and with a little sponsorship from NRDF and the help of the Ministry of Community Development, I took a look at the history of St. Lucia’s crafts, what was happening then and what prospects seemed to be for the future. It fascinated me and I’ve never lost that fascination – we are a mix of so many influences – a very few seeping through from the Carib days, some from African roots and a lot from more modern demands of commerce.

Livity Art Studio - lost in Hurricane Tomas, this was a haven for local arts and crafts

What I noticed was the distinct lack of a ‘visual language’ in most of what was made – no symbols that tied back to the melange of cultures that shaped us; we’ll very few – tudor rosettes on some woodwork, wooden fretwork fascia boards that harked back to wrought iron you might find in France maybe, a few Carib style huts or walls in Choiseul, but not much, no African symbols – drums, yes, but not adorned with motifs that tied them to their motherland. Somehow our mix of colonialism had done an efficient job of wiping the heart of cultural expression out of our crafts.

Vincent Eudovic - father of all wood-sculpture in St. Lucia - in the 70s, had begun to infuse our fledgling contemporary crafts with a new symbolism – taking inspiration from history and melting into it, images of life in St. Lucia, Rastafarianism, abstracted conceptual forms. ‘The Camp’ carved fabulously in relief and in the round, complex stories coaxed out of remnants of ancient trees and slabs of local timber … their heartwood stories found homes in the houses of many an appreciative connoisseur but try looking for one today in any public place, you’ll be looking a long time. Perhaps Anse Chastanet Hotel and Ladera are the best examples of where this type of work can be seen but I don’t believe they represent the depth that The Camp achieved at their height. Eudovic’s Art Studio remains a tribute to the Master and Jallim continues the tradition in his own way as an artist, celebrated in far flung corners of the world but yet to see, like his father, real tribute to their mastery on home soil.

So, where are we today? How far have we come forward? Forward? Chinese-made busts of our Nobel Laureates in Derek Walcott Square…well, I guess at least we changed the name from the erroneous colonial Columbus Square. And we do have one Ricky George sculpture in town and one at George FL Charles Airport. First Island to have a Cultural Policy - tailor-made for sitting on a shelf with those Final Reports. But still, no museum, no National Gallery, no ‘Percent for the Arts’…and that’s not all folks! We are about to lose a lot of the little that we have if we don’t do something serious and do it soon.

Khus-Khus grass basket, Choiseul Crafts, St. Lucia

When I first worked in the crafts back in 1992, Choiseul had well over 300 active Traditional Crafters – and for those that don’t know, that means persons working in basketry – palama, kus-kus, ti-kanot, awali, ponm dilyenn in three forms: interwoven, tubecoiled and ‘wicker work’. Traditional furniture makers, crafters making fishpots and chair seats with hex-woven strips of bamboo. We had a slew of carvers too – George Gerald, Marinus Francois, Lawrence ‘Uptight’ Deligny amongst others, still carried on The Camp’s tradition and daily trained youngsters at the Choiseul Art and Craft Centre.

Shaping a Canawi - Traditional St. Lucian Pottery

Then there were the potters: St. Lucia still has the largest existing group of Traditional Potters in the English speaking Caribbean – there are about 30 left. They pickaxe the clay from their own land, pound it with African style 3 ft pestles on flat rocks near their work spaces, pick rocks from the mounds of wet clay and shape coalpots, canawi, carafe, leshwit, plant pots, kettles and more using a technique that is straight from Ghana – soft, wet, large ‘coils’ of clay swiftly transform into full bellied vessels on the potter’s knee. It is an outstanding skill. I know, I learnt from a Ghanian potter in college and doing this is not easy. Then this earth, shaped so skilfully is carefully built up one on top the next, high as your nose, with coconut branches, dried tree-limbs and all sorts of wood to form a pyramid for a bonfire. Built and lit in the early hours of a day when the skies are clear and the breeze light and masterfully tended with a 20ft stick as it burns blazing until there is just ash and the yard-mud has turned to St. Lucian traditional pottery.

We pay this amazing tradition scant attention - at most buying a coalpot during October month where we apparently celebrate our Kweyol heritage. We seem oblivious to its value to our culture, to the Quarter of Choiseul where the average income leaves them sitting in 2nd last place on the island's poverty scale.

Bonfiring the pots

Soon though, if we do nothing, we won’t have a clay coalpot for Jounen Kweyol – this is the last generation of Traditional Potters in St. Lucia: it is a tradition passed on from mother to daughter and not one of the children of any of these potters has any intention to carry on in this beautiful but dead-end career. Without action – serious, thorough, practical, proud action - we will lose this tradition.

There are a few who realise what we have, realise the worth and have begun to  try to do something to save our tradition – MacArthur Phillip of Choiseul, Prof. Patricia Faye of Florida Gulf Coast University, myself to name a few, but it is hard to do this in what seems an ocean of disregard.

Steaming the vines for 'Wicker- work" deep in the rainforest

Steaming a Gonmye tree to make a dug out canoe, Praslin, St. Lucia

There are other similar stories, the potters are just my passion – we hardly ever make Gonmye Canoes for instance – I was shocked and happy to see a couple being made at Praslin a few months ago this year, but that’s a rare sight.  The ‘wicker’ workers number 2 elderly gents in Choiseul and one getting-older gent in Dennery. Traditional furniture, hand turned on hand-built, foot powered lathes…there remain two men making these. When last did you see a bamboo fish pot? The Choiseul Art and Craft Centre, last time I visited, was full of souvenirs ‘customized’ for St. Lucia and made in Colombia and hardly a genuine local craft was to be seen. This is government money buying these things. The training rooms are empty  – no woodcarving, no Taiwanese bamboo craft, no pottery – US$70,000+ worth of pottery equipment left to rot in the rains. I feel like swearing to end this article! What on earth are we thinking?