Heartland View

Media Credit: Megan Simpson

Media Credit: Megan Simpson

Unique, colorful terra cotta clay pots line the first floor gallery of the Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building at Northwest Missouri State University. At first, it's just another art exhibit.

After a quick glance and a little reading, the realization occurs that the exhibit represents much more. These finely crafted pieces of art are a lifeline for millions of people in impoverished countries.

The exhibit provides insight to the United States based non-profit group Potters for Peace. Taking on the challenge of providing people with clean, clear drinking water around the world is a hefty task. Potters for Peace artists use vibrant, unique styles and shapes that hypnotize viewers and raise awareness of the group's humanitarian work.

"Potters for Peace artists look beyond their own studios and use their skills with clay and pottery to do something that makes a difference for people in need," Laura Kukkee, assistant professor of ceramics at Northwest said. "Water is a basic need we all have, and if there's no clean water, lives are in danger."

Potters, educators and volunteers alike, the Potters for Peace organization travels to developing countries, teaching the poor how to make simple filtration systems for their drinking water.

Potters teach them to design a small bucket sized pot made of clay, mixed with combustible materials such as sawdust or rice husks. The pots are placed in a firing kiln and the combustible material burns away, leaving a series of small holes in the pot. After firing, the pots are coated with an antibacterial agent called colloidal silver. The pot is now the potter's clean slate, a blank page ready to be filled in. The result is a handcrafted, portable, low-cost filtration system that is 99 percent effective in removing impurities from water.

"Art still influences society in a big way today," Joanna Yeldell junior humanities major and art minors at NWMSU said. "They are practical art pieces you would see almost anywhere, but are saving lives."

Approximately 5,000 children die every day as a result of drinking contaminated water. The United Nations estimates that 80 percent of all sickness in developing countries can be traced back to unsafe drinking water.

"Art majors are always trying to do something to help other people, and that's why we're here, Yeldell said. "It's the talent that we have that affects people's daily lives. It's very encouraging to know we can make a difference."

For more information, visit www.pottersforpeace.org.

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