Thursday, August 27, 2009

and now...



it is not the first time I have been in the wake of a wildfire. in 1998 I lifted my eldest in nappies from his crib and ran with him in my arms through the scorching smoke in front of raging flames to safety. every summer fires rage throughout the country side. two years ago they got out of hand and burned huge areas all over the mainland. there was a lot of talk about taking measures to avoid the same thing happening in the future.
but it does happen. again and again. And Greece is a very dry country, it takes decades for a forest to regenerate and mature..more often than not fire takes its toll before the forest has re established itself making the loss irrevocable.
that is why reforestation and the care of the forest in the future is the best way to undo some of the damage
also the education of our children whose legacy is beying destroyed to respect and care for nature and themselves

suddenly my little "stash" of seeds, leaves, flowers from dyeplants has become precious, invaluable.
they can be turned into seeds of knowledge and experience, a legacy for the future
this land has a terrible need of good, to undo the bad

That is why we have begun a new project called art for trees, it is a call of help to artists and craftspeople all over the world
we are asking for donations in the form of works of art that can be sold to provide funds for reforestation in a responsible way
I have started a new blog, attika sos in english and greek to host information about the project hoping that it may work as a forum for ideas, information and experience regarding these matters
there you will find information about the organisation the will act as host for the proposed events, and you can follow the progress of the action
I'm hoping that a visit will inspire donations- please forward the link to anyone you think might be interested
any ideas- thoughts- experiences are more than welcome, please do not hesitate to post comments -they are very helpful
also I welcome any thoughts about the connection between fiber and textile arts and environmental awareness - I will post all relevant texts, with authors permission, and translate them into greek
every gesture helps, every phrase, comment, experience, thought, idea, is more than welcome. at this moment i feel it is of vital importance.
i will keep this blog as a more personal account of my dyeing, felting journey
jasmine has been the moving power for the undertaking of this project, please visit her blog by clicking on her name to see the rug she is making for us
thank you all

6 comments:

Harnett-Hargrove said...

I just tripped down the page through your blog, there is a resonance here. -Jayne

Manya Maratou said...

jayne- welcome

dorie said...

this is the greatest night-mare of everybody's life and you have been in the middle of it. How awfull... I will send some of my nature-leaveprinted silkfabrics if that can helps a little bit. You know there is a song of the french boysgroup 'the poppies' with the line 'il faut une fleur pour fair le monde' - translated in English - you need a flower to make the world'. In this case it is so true to build up you have to start again with new life, with new trees. I hope a lot of people will respond to this action. Good luck

Manya Maratou said...

dorie, thank you. flower- printed fabric , great! we shall make sure those flowers are heard, we'll give them a voice, and they just might make the world.

Yvette said...

I'll post soon and think hard. I'll sent you a piece of my art of course....

love
you
yvette

Manya Maratou said...

yvette, that would be great. thank you, i wish the best for th exhibition

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...