Potters for Peace

Young Artists Promote Clean Drinking Water & PFP

Abby Silver — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:36:13 +0000

A huge thank you to the members of the Briggs Elementary School art club in Florence South Carolina for their educational and fundraising efforts! With the guidance of their art teacher, these 3rd to 6th graders chose to educate their community this year about the need for clean water and about Potters for Peace. They made small pots and informational handouts to give out at their school family day, created an information table, and collected donations.

The students heard about Potters for Peace from their teacher, Laura McFadden, who heard about us a few years ago at a conference where PFP was included during presentations on art-related service organizations. She became a supporter and has often worn one of our t-shirts to school. During Art Club this year she presented several options for fundraising projects and the students were most excited about Potters for Peace.

Thanks to the kids for their hard work and thanks to Laura for raising awareness of the importance of artists working together to support each other. We’re very proud of their efforts, and welcome them to the PFP family!

A young artist stands next to the information table

Welcome Abby Silver!

Patty Osborne — Mon, 06 May 2013 17:16:03 +0000

After eight years of hard work, Peter Chartrand has stepped down from his post as US Director of Potters for Peace and we are happy to welcome Abby Silver, a potter from Boulder, Colorado, to the position.

Abby was a production potter for many years and now works on large public art pieces. She has travelled extensively and has worked as both an employee and a volunteer with several community organizations. She is also a long-time supporter of Potters for Peace. We are confident that her skills and energy will be valuable assets for our organization.

Peter Chartrand will continue his filter work with Potters for Peace but please direct all inquiries, both about filters and on other matters, to abby@pottersforpeace.org and Abby will send them on to the appropriate Potters for Peace people.

At this time we would like to thank Peter for his hard work and dedication as the US “point person” for Potters for Peace and we look forward to working with him in future Ceramic Water Filter projects. Peter will remain a vibrant part of PfP in our filter program.

Abby’s full contact information is:
Potters for Peace
PO Box 2214
Boulder CO 80306
303-442-1253

Potters for Peace welcomes new US Director

Patty Osborne — Mon, 06 May 2013 17:10:08 +0000

Abby’s full contact information is:
Potters for Peace
PO Box 2214
Boulder CO 80306
303-442-1253

Filtron launches their website

Patty Osborne — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 03:11:29 +0000

Filtron, the filter factory in Jinotepe, Nicaragua, has launched a new, bilingual, website that has some great photos and some useful information, including a 17-page manual on the use and maintenance of a ceramic water filter. Check it out at www.filtronnica.com.

Lenca pottery, Magu Cooperative, Honduras

Beverley Pillers — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 04:23:59 +0000

One of the groups we’ve given technical assistance to is the Magu Cooperativa in La Arada, Honduras near the border with El Salvador. They are keeping the Lenca tradition alive and well with their beautiful pieces using the traditional Lenca clay resist technique. They have grown in to a new studio and workshop. They employ women in the community to make and decorate pieces and have grown to the point that as of last week they were working to fill a 1,200 piece order. We’re proud of the work they produce and look forward to working with them in the future to help them implement some new design ideas they are working on.

Black pots and Rosquillas

Patty Osborne — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 20:10:08 +0000

Cooperativa San Expedicto is a pottery workshop that is located near Jinotege, in the coffee-growing hills of northern Nicaragua. Up until a few months ago, the potters of San Expedicto were handbuilders, but they asked Potters for Peace to arrange some training sessions on the wheel, and now much of their work is wheel-thrown. All their work is highly burnished and then fired once in a wood-fired kiln. After an hour or so, the pots are removed from the kiln and smoked in sawdust until they are solid black. When the pots have cooled, a design is usually scratched through the black surface to reveal the light-coloured clay beneath it.

On a recent visit to Cooperativa San Expedito, the women of the cooperativa demonstrated the firing method that they use to achieve a solid black finish on their work, and they finished up their demo with a delicious surprise. The pots we brought back from San Expedito will always remind us of the warmth and enthusiasm of these potters, not to mention the melt-in-your-mouth taste of their fresh-baked rosquillas.

Click on each image below to enlarge it and then use the BACK button to return to the thumbnails.

Potters for Peace Presents at UNC Water and Health Conference

Kaira Wagoner — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 01:37:31 +0000

Potters for Peace (PfP) members Robert Pillers, Reynaldo Diaz and Kaira Wagoner showed off their ceramic weapons of mass bacterial destruction at the UNC Water and Health conference in Chapel Hill, NC last week (October 29-November 2). Joining over 100 experts on water, sanitation and health, PfP learned and shared with the best in the field. PfP contributed with a poster presentation, an oral presentation and a live filter demonstration… not to mention the countless lively discussions regarding filter production, quality control, and the way forward.

We are excited about where the filter is headed, and proud of our contribution thus far. With a small budget, PfP has helped establish around 40 factories in 28 countries in just 14 years! With your support, we can keep up the good, hard work. Thanks to all those who have helped us get this far. Ron PRESENTE!

New Kiln – Omotepe, Nicaragua

Potters for Peace — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 17:44:38 +0000

In early October PFP U.S. Director Peter Chartrand spent a week on the island of Omotepe, in Lake Nicaragua building a small updraft kiln. It was built on the property of local community activists Circles and Yolydia Robinson and will be used to initiate craft activity among local women.The kiln is a type used at the Ducuale Grande, Nicaragua, pottery cooperative.

Read our October newsletter online

Patty Osborne — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 02:52:15 +0000

Our October newsletter is stuffed with photos and interesting articles and a PDF version is available online. Inside you’ll find:

Descriptions and photos of Nicaraguan workshop
A message from Bev Pillers, Board Chair
Updates and photos of our Water Filter Program

Click to download it.

Cooperativa San Expedicto, Jinotega, Nicaragua

Beverley Pillers — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 03:06:32 +0000

Cooperativa San Expedicto is a pottery co-op of women making black pottery in the style of Mata Ortiz, Mexico with a beautiful, rich black luster surface. This is a new group we are working with in the Department of Jinotega. Recently we had a workshop for the women in design and throwing on the wheel. They are a delightful group of women to work with, very energized and with lots of ideas.