Adventure, passion, and commitment are what this
Seattle-based company, Village Art, is truly about. Village Art
evolved from travels with my husband to villages of
Southeast Asia, where he works on developing tests for infectious diseases in men, women, and especially children. As a specialist in child-hood behavior, I was completely engrossed in watching and playing with children in the villages. However, I soon discovered the stunning earthen-ware pieces created by the women artisans, using only their hands and a few traditional tools.

I returned to the United States to continue my work as a behavior specialist in public schools, venturing back to Indonesia for the following two summer vacations, specifically in order to learn more about village life and handicrafts. This was an exciting time, and I developed
close friendships with people who shared my passion for Indonesian arts and crafts. We traveled to villages all over Bali, Lombok, Java and Timor. I witnessed villagers
working in the rice fields by day, producing these beautiful pieces of art in the evenings, while also tending to their families and communities.

In time, I came to understand that many of these villages use the income from handicraft production to fight poverty and improve the overall health and education of their children. However, this “village art,” which is so vital for the welfare
of so many people is also greatly at risk in a world driven by mass production and mass marketing. When I returned home, I began talking to people about the villages, showing pictures of women and children and selling individual pieces of this lovely pottery.