Soporopo

I have received my very own "soporopo", compliments of Marcela Andrades Alfaro of the craft group "Minerva's Circle" up in Gainesville, Florida. Prior to receiving my "soporopo" all I knew was that Marcela was giving away five of these precious little stuffed critters to friends who responded to her Facebook query for five crafters offering a home to one of these little guys. What I didn't realize is what a significant little treasure was heading my way...

Marcela's handwritten note to me says " 'Specially made for Karen, "the man of time" to remind us that life is short, enjoy your time with friends and family." Yet "the man of time"comes with another message--his "history" of sorts. (I will now quote the little card that arrived with him directly.)

"Soporopo History: Santiago Chile, 1974 During the Dictatorship of Pinochet (1973-1989). This soporopo is made by hand with love and is a replica of the dolls that my mother used to make in prison as a political prisoner in 1974. I am replicating this doll in her honor and many others and in all sizes, but the originals were 4 inches tall, they were very tiny and cute were made by hand using the personal clothing of the detainees in the prison. They made these funny looking dolls, always smiling with short arms to give them to family members in the weekly visits.  This doll was used for years to get information from the political prisoner in the concentration camps in Chile. Inside the doll were names of missing people that were detained and killed, maps, officers in charge, tactics, houses, etc. The names were written on scrap fabric used to stuff the dolls and were taken to (Catholic churches who then took them) to the Commission of Human Rights in OAS (Organization of American States) Oh beautiful soporopo army marching to the church to tell their secrets to the priest...they are a symbol of love, and how women working together can help with ingenious ways to save the lives of others. Soporopos were salvation and brought hope that justice would come one day. Made with love by Marci remembering my mom Eva Alfaro Holbrook."

Needless to say, by the end of reading this card, I was in tears. Thank you, Marcela, for honoring me with this treasure and legacy of the brave women of Chile. This little soporopo will be placed in a special corner of my home and my heart.

Check out Minerva's Circle at  http://minervascircle.blogspot.com to be truly inspired by their fabulous projects.

Got Any Good Ideas to Share?

I was very pleased with the turn out last Monday evening for my "pysanky making" workshop at the Franciscan Center of Tampa. In terms of it being a fundraiser, it's almost not worth it--I only made a hundred dollars, all of which will be going to Vida Nueva Cooperative. Still, $100 is nothing to sneeze at when you send it off to Mexico and let the amazing women of Vida Nueva stretch and utilize every cent of it. 

What does, however, make doing the pysanky making workshop VERY worthwhile is the fact that, for the second year in a row now, we got over two dozen people who came to learn a traditional craft that is as much contemplative practice as it is folk art. It is also a folk art that links European-Americans to the richness of our spiritual and cultural heritage, much of which has been forgotten in our rush to assimilate into mainstream culture in decades past, and which can continue to get lost in our hectic, daily lives. 

I was from that fortunate generation whose grandparents, aunts and uncles and neighbors all came from "the old country"--whatever old country that happened to be, of course, depended, but I grew up surrounded by Polish, Italian, French from the French-Canadians and any other assortment of recent, immigrant languages and cultures, which made life very, very rich. It is a legacy to be treasured, and this year as well as last, when people get up to leave the workshop clutching their first "pysanky", they are literally glowing with pride and effusive in the thanks for being given the opportunity to sit down and learn this traditional craft. That in and of itself is reward--and treasure--enough!

But this year, I got an added bonus. Attending my workshop was a religious sister visiting Tampa from St. Lucia in the West Indies, Sr. DeLourdes Lopez. Sr. DeLourdes gives young women on the island instruction in how to sew, knit and crochet and most especially, how to do fine needlework. The women's crafts are sold throughout St. Lucia, usually in the resort gift shops, but she has also had several "graduates" of her program whose work was good enough that they established their own tailoring and craft businesses. As well as teaching the women a craft with which to earn a living, Sr. DeLourdes gives them support and love, and a venue through which to meet and grow in self-esteem and maturity, as much as in marketable skills. 

I told Sr. DeLourdes about this modest little venture called "Global Women's Artisan Alliance" and asked her how I might help her and her women out. Sr. DeLourdes would like to receive ideas, pictures and patterns of any sort of craft items that might be a "good seller" among the tourist who frequent St. Lucia's gift shops. She would prefer color hard copies or xeroxes of these images, rather than emails or email attachments. So, if you think you might have some nice ideas for Sr. DeLourdes, please don't hesitate to send them along to her. You can reach her at:

Sr. DeLourdes Lopez

Franciscan Institute Palmiste

PO Box 453

Vieux Fort

St. Lucia, West Indies

It's Time for Pysanky Again!

If you're in the Tampa Bay area and free this Monday evening, consider coming over to the Franciscan Retreat Center for an evening of pysanky making! (That's Ukrainian wax resist Easter eggs, like the ones in this picture) The cost of the evening is $35, which includes a traditional Polish dinner, instruction and materials on how to create these eggs, and your very own pysanky making kit to take home with you, including dyes, wax and "kistka"--you know, that little copper and wooden tool for "writing" on the eggs with wax. The evening is a fundraiser for projects support by the Global Women's Artisan Alliance. See you there!

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

I consider having married an Irishman a special sort of blessing! And predictably, St. Patrick's Day is a big day for my husband and I--a day that tends to last for more than a week between special dinners, DVDs and television shows from Ireland, reminiscing about "home" and sharing Irish culture with friends. And a few pints of Guinness...

So, for you my friends, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, please enjoy these photos of the "auld sod" (taken on our last trip back to Ireland in May, 2008). And as the Irish say "Beannachtai na Feile Padraig!" or "Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Kullakas Featured on www.buildanest.com

I continue to be grateful to Rebecca Kousky of Nest for all the help she's given Kullakas Women's Cooperative of Bolivia. Kullakas is now selling some of their best items on Nest's website (www.buildanest.com) including their lovely 100% alpaca socks, the woven shawls and those adorable little "chola" dolls we sold last spring here in Florida. Here's hoping this kind of exposure will help the women market their well-made handicrafts even more...If you log on to Nest's website, consider sending a "thank you" to Rebecca for all the fine work she's doing helping women artisans around the world to earn a livelihood through their creative talents!

"Craft and Crash"?

We were a small but mighty contingent that showed up for a crafting fundraiser for Vida Nueva Cooperative. Funny thing was, it took us nearly two hours to actually sit down and craft anything--so many of us were so tired after a long week, and the company and conversation was so good. In fact, it was decided that we simply don't get together enough to just sit down and talk! And, next time we gather, maybe we'll call it a "craft and crash" gathering, so those of us just way too tired to do anything at all are "given permission" to just "crash" with a bunch of super women!

The way the world is anymore, people are always so busy. Yet I am always impressed at how people will take time for the important stuff--helping those less fortunate than themselves, creating a thing or two of beauty, and taking time to have a heart to heart talk about the things that really matter in life. Today reminded me of that. Thank you to everyone who gathered in support of Vida Nueva Cooperative, but thank you, also, for gathering to support one another on the journey. Good friends and good conversation are just as important as good causes! Today made that clear to me in a way that I hadn't experienced in a long, long time.

"Fun-Raiser" for Vida Nueva Cooperative This Saturday

Like scrapbooking? Dollmaking? Interested in learning how to hook a rug or create Ukrainian style Easter eggs? If you live in the Tampa Bay area, consider joining us this Saturday of our "fun-raising" fundraiser for Vida Nueva Women's Cooperative in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico. We'll have all kinds of arts and crafts opportunities for you to choose from, plus a simple lunch of egg salad sandwiches, with accompanying snacks throughout the day. All we ask is for whatever monetary donation you might want to make, large or small. Every cent will benefit the work of the women of Vida Nueva, who do educational outreach to poor, rural women in Oaxaca state, as well as fund projects to improve the lives of the poor, such as building wells in villages with no running water, and supplying solar ovens to women who have no electricity for cooking. Email me for details-- I hope we see you there! karen_rushen@yahoo.com