Haitian artists featured at Clay Paper Scissors Gallery

From Clay Paper Scissors Gallery in Cheyenne:

Art Design and Dine is tomorrow night, April 14, from 5-8 p.m. This month Clay Paper Scissors has a wonderfully ethnic and eclectic show for you. The artwork here was done by Haitian artists in Port-au-Prince. The bright colors and busy scenes reflect the hustle and bustle of daily life in this poor Caribbean nation. Market life is central to Haiti, and everyone has something to barter. There will also be Haitian food to sample and wonderful Haitian music. Paula Egan-Wright will also be doing portraits for donations to Camp Taptap. Make sure you drop by to learn a little about Haitian culture, art and fun!

All money for works sold goes to financing “Camp Taptap”, a camp for approximately 200 orphaned children in the southern port of Les Cayes. The camp was modeled after Casper College’s KEY program (Knowledge Enrichment for Youth). In the summer of 2010, the first camp TAPTAP held two sessions, with 400 children participating. The second, in December 2010, offered a teacher training workshop in the early mornings, followed by a camp where children, mostly 5-10 years old, learned theater, music, writing, drawing, and watercolor.

Costs of running a camp include salaries for cooks ( who gather supplies, build fires, and cook lunch for 200+ people), stipend for counselors, who spend 24 hours a day with the children, supervising their bathing, sleeping, learning, and meal times, cost for food for three meals a day X 2 weeks X 200+ people, supplies for camp, medicines for sick kids at camp, transportation of cooks and other personnel to the camp site to and from the country. Paula Egan-Wright's goal for camp TAPTAP for the summer of 2011 is $6,000, She is also looking for an additional $2000 to provide supplies (textbooks, software, computers) for the teacher training Institute. Donations are welcome! Fundraising ideas are welcome!

Remember to also bring the Art Design and Dine flyer for stamping in order to get a coupon to Ruby Juice or Library Cafe. We also have them at the gallery if you are going to start your art walk with us that evening. The gallery is also open Fridays and Saturdays 1-5pm or by serendipity. We also have exciting new works being made by our resident artists, so stop on by for snacks and good conversation.

Hope to see you there!

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Original Haitian artwork on display at The Corridor Gallery

"The Art of Determination," a showing of original Haitian artwork, opens at 7 p.m. tonight at The Corridor Gallery, 120 E. Second St. in Casper. Proceeds from sales at the show will benefit Wyoming-based Haitian relief efforts. The show runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

FMI: http://thecorridorgallery.com/

Arts world rallies for Haiti earthquake relief

From Cornelia Carey at Craft Emergency Relief Fund:

Dear Friends,

A new decade is upon us and it begins with the hard tragedy unfolding in Haiti. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families as well as those who are on the front lines of the relief efforts there.

A number of you have written looking for suggestions about where to send contributions and aid. Our friends at Artist Trust in Seattle have put together this
list of aid organizations helping in the relief efforts and this link to a New York Times article lists organizations providing aid. We will be back in touch with you if we have more suggestions to share with you.

In the meantime, please find a way to help out in this dire situation and please hold those in Haiti in your heart.

My best, Cornelia Carey