A papier mache tap-tap created by the students at Art Creation Foundation for ChildrenNot too long ago, I came home to find a package on my front step. It was big and light, and I hoped right away that it was from Jacmel. One of the biggest thrills and also most humbling experiences I have these days is when a box of art work arrives on my doorstep unexpectedly, like a holiday surprise!
In this particular box was a papier mache tap-tap! I had long admired them on the Art Creation Foundation for Children website, and here was one of my very own, generously gifted to me by these phenomenally talented children still working together to survive and rebuild after the January earthquake.
Personally, I have always been fascinated with the ways in which private cab or bus drivers in many different areas of the world turn their vehicles into veritable works of art. You'll see it in Pakistan, India, various areas in South America, of course Haiti, and many other places too!
And who doesn't love to decorate their car? This goes beyond mere decoration. These are Art Cars, to be sure. They serve as a much needed source of income for the driver and transportation for anyone with fare who will shout ale (say "ah-lay") to hop on. I have read that the name tap-tap comes from the sound made when rapping one's fist on the metal panel to let the driver know you want off.
Jacmel is still in severe crisis after the earthquake. Life isn't anywhere near back to "normal", and even most days before the disaster, "normal" was awful for many, many people to begin with. The students at the school in Jacmel are making art every single day. Art can heal. It can help people deal with unfathomable situations. It can be a source of solace and income. It has been the way I have made sense of my own life and has given me a vocation. It opens the doors of imagination, which can be an oasis amid difficulty.
My beautiful handmade tap-tap hangs just above my kitchen window. The inside is filled with people who, in my imagination, are talking or even singing together. The top rack is loaded with good things from the market, and the whole of it is painted with beautiful colors and patterns. It is signed by Fan Fan, the young artist who created it.
When I look at it each day, I feel encouragement and hope and an ache in my heart that these talented and tenacious children are creating beauty in the face of adversity. This little tap-tap made a very long journey from Jacmel to Baltimore, and I couldn't be happier that it made the trip!
Mesi Anpil Fan Fan!
Haiti Cherie!
PS--Would you like to have your very own Tap-Tap from Jacmel? Visit The Sideshow museum store inside The American Visionary Arts Museum for a huge variety of gorgeous paper-mache sculptures, bowls and lovely birds!!
In this particular box was a papier mache tap-tap! I had long admired them on the Art Creation Foundation for Children website, and here was one of my very own, generously gifted to me by these phenomenally talented children still working together to survive and rebuild after the January earthquake.
Personally, I have always been fascinated with the ways in which private cab or bus drivers in many different areas of the world turn their vehicles into veritable works of art. You'll see it in Pakistan, India, various areas in South America, of course Haiti, and many other places too!
And who doesn't love to decorate their car? This goes beyond mere decoration. These are Art Cars, to be sure. They serve as a much needed source of income for the driver and transportation for anyone with fare who will shout ale (say "ah-lay") to hop on. I have read that the name tap-tap comes from the sound made when rapping one's fist on the metal panel to let the driver know you want off.
Jacmel is still in severe crisis after the earthquake. Life isn't anywhere near back to "normal", and even most days before the disaster, "normal" was awful for many, many people to begin with. The students at the school in Jacmel are making art every single day. Art can heal. It can help people deal with unfathomable situations. It can be a source of solace and income. It has been the way I have made sense of my own life and has given me a vocation. It opens the doors of imagination, which can be an oasis amid difficulty.
My beautiful handmade tap-tap hangs just above my kitchen window. The inside is filled with people who, in my imagination, are talking or even singing together. The top rack is loaded with good things from the market, and the whole of it is painted with beautiful colors and patterns. It is signed by Fan Fan, the young artist who created it.
When I look at it each day, I feel encouragement and hope and an ache in my heart that these talented and tenacious children are creating beauty in the face of adversity. This little tap-tap made a very long journey from Jacmel to Baltimore, and I couldn't be happier that it made the trip!
Mesi Anpil Fan Fan!
Haiti Cherie!
PS--Would you like to have your very own Tap-Tap from Jacmel? Visit The Sideshow museum store inside The American Visionary Arts Museum for a huge variety of gorgeous paper-mache sculptures, bowls and lovely birds!!
