PIECES TO THE PUZZLE

An update on PROJECT INDIA:

It has been so interesting to see all the pieces come together in regards to how this project has come to be.  Here are the details:

Witness for Peace

One of the pieces came from my enlightening friendship with Elise Roberts. Elise has her masters in International Social Welfare and is currently the Upper Midwest Regional Organizer at Witness for Peace. Her passion and knowledge for social justice through out the world has been incredibly motivating, strengthening that inner tug in my heart to do more! click on the link: Witness for Peace, to learn more about Elise and this amazing organization. Elise traveled in India twice and has shared much of her traveling experience which has been pivotal to the travel planning for the project.

Seeds of Exchange

Sarah Davison-Tracy is the wonderful owner of this non-profit organization. Seeds of Exchange  partners with dynamic community leaders in India, Uganda and Pakistan.  “We help bridge these influential leaders with socially-minded people interested in collaborating to make a difference. “

Sarah is probably the most radiant woman I have every met, she glows with loving kindness. She has directly connected me with Jaimala Gupta, of Vatsalya in Jaipur, India and Malika & Lima Aklant, of in Mussoorie, India. Where I will be teaching the two bead making workshops (details below under PROJECT DETAILS). Sarah also connected me with Delta Donohue…

Anoothi

Delta Donohue is the dynamic owner of Anoothi,  a fair trade business providing economic development, training and sustainable livelihoods to village women in India. Each purchase provides needed revenue for empowerment programs serving rural women and street children in India. Anoothi works directly with Vatsalya, Jaimala Gupta’s Women’s Empowerment group.

I worked directly with Delta in Denver Colorado where we held an art event called, “Artful Women” (see Events link and scroll down to find the event and read more about it), a day long art exhibition where we displayed up our beautiful wears; my woven jewelry and the beeautiful handmade textiles and jewelry made by Vatsalya,  Women’s Empowerment groups, held in a historic mansion in the heart of Denver. It is amazing to think that I will be meeting the women who created the beautiful wears that I shared an exhibition with just two years ago.

Indra’s Net

Here is another piece to the puzzle came from a beautiful Hindu concept called ‘Indra’s Net.’ It is said that above the palace of the Hindu god Indra, you can see an infinite net that covers the earth, suspended like an atmosphere. At each knot in the net there is a clear and radiant jewel that reflects all the other jewels.  Each jewel contains and mirrors the entire net and all the jewels that hold the net together. To me, Indra’s net is a metaphor for how each living part contains the whole and how the smallest unit is crucial to binding the threads of life.  (For more information about Indra’s Net, check out Mark Nepo’s book: Finding Inner Courage) In traveling to India, I will be going to the home of this beautiful concept. This philosophy speaks to and inspires both my artistic jewelry work and my worldview.

My current body of woven jewelry expresses and reflects the idea of Indra’s net in many incarnations. Every piece of jewelry is a woven net, with the threads of precious metals overlapping in every organic curve and within that net are many jewels. There is energy, vitality, in the work. It is united yet chaotic in its organic organization. Though difficult to articulate, this energy is very present when experiencing my work.

In terms of my worldview, I want to learn about how I am connected to the people of India and how my work is intricately and increasingly connected to people around the world through trade and globalization. I plan to share what I learn to my community through my art.

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If you would like to support Project India, please email Angela: angelalensch@gmail.com

Thank you!

TO READ MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT CLICK ON THIS LINK: PROJECT INDIA