Clay Angels: Build a kiln and inspire a village!

Hi, my name is Dee Harris, I'm a potter, and I am fundraising to make a dream come true in a small village far away. It's a dream I share with my friends, Alex Paton, Tim Sherman, Irina Jibuti, Bishop Isaiah, Kevin Crowe and Nick Perkocha. We want to build a modern, wood-fired "train" kiln in the tiny village of Kurdghelauri, outside Telavi, in the Kakheti region of Georgia. Please donate to become a "Clay Angel", and help us build this kiln!

The majority of the money raised will go to buying materials -- bricks, kiln shelves, framing iron, refractory concrete, tools, wood posts, beams and roofing -- to construct the kiln and a protective shed.

It'll look very much like this kiln, which Alex Paton recently built at Sherman Ceramics in northern Maryland.

Part of the money raised will also cover travel and living costs for Alex P. and Nick P. to be there to oversee the kiln's construction and the first firing of the new kiln. We will all volunteer our time, and we will be joined by local volunteers as well in order to get the kiln built!

Below is a photo of Kevin Crowe and Bishop Isaiah at Tye River Pottery in spring 2023, followed by a photo of Irina Jibuti of Studio 1300 working on a large, qvevri-style vessel in her workshop.

For those of you who care about handicraft, and pottery in particular, this is truly a chance to be part of the history of ceramics in the country of Georgia. The Clay Angels woodfiring kiln will be the first modern-design train kiln built in that country!

This kiln was originally planned to be built next to a small ceramics studio near the monastery where Bishop Isaiah resides and works, and just down the road from the children's arts education center that he built to provide inspiration and hope to local residents. A kiln will allow Bishop Isaiah to expand the impact of the arts education center, encourage increased hope in a economically struggling village, and hopefully spark the rebirth of a local crafts/pottery tradition in a region suffering from chronic poverty and hopelessness.

Recently, however, the Bishop has had to postpone construction of the kiln at his location. We have adjusted our plans to build a kiln in another location -- in the village of Kurdghelauri outside Telavi Georgia -- instead.

This village -- located in the heartland of the famous wine producing region of the Alazani Valley -- is very near to historic centers of Georgian traditional ceramics. And Irina Jibuti, one of the partners in the Tbilisi-based Studio 1300 ceramics facility, is building a new clay arts workshop and residency program there. Her goal is to explore and expand the potential of local Georgian clays, via studio access and technical support for ceramic artists and classes for community members young and old. It will be an ideal location for the new kiln, and this location has the full support of Bishop Isaia, and our team!

We also stand ready to help the Bishop when he is ready to complete construction of a similar kiln in his location in Nikozi.

Photos of the Nikozi Monastery:

It's my passion project -- all of ours really -- and I know we are all honored by the chance to help both of these wonderful ceramic arts centers in Georgia fulfill this vision. It will benefit many deserving children, local craftspeople, and other members of the broader clay community in this country!

All funds raised will go 100% to getting this kiln built and running. If we are so lucky as to raise any surplus funds, those will be invested into potter's wheels and other crucial equipment to furnish the ceramics centers mentioned. Not a penny will go to waste!

Please join us and become a Nikozi Clay Angel!

Nikozi Clay Cherubs -- $5 to $45 donation

Nikozi Clay Angels -- $50 to $100 donation

Nikozi Clay Archangels -- $101 to $500+ donation

Once you've made your donations, all donors will be kept up to date with regular photo and video updates from the project as the build progresses. In addition:

And all Archangel- level donors are welcome to take an in-person guided tour of the ceramics center and kiln, when completed, the next time you visit Georgia :) !!

An important note on our local partners: Bishop Isaiah is truly a remarkable person, and a community hero in every sense of the word. In addition to creating the children’s arts center that keeps the community vital, he has rebuilt his monastery twice – once following a military invasion by Russia in 2008 – and he also runs an annual International Animated Film Festival in his village, which attracts prominent animators and film directors from around the world!

Irina Jibuti and her partner Taso Gomelauri are inspiring clay entrepreneurs in their own right. They launched and manage a woman-owned clay business in Tbilisi called Studio 1300, which brings the joy of handmade ceramics to many residents of the capital. Irina is also renovating a small home into a future clay arts center where residencies will be offered to ceramists interested in experimenting with the possibilities offered by local Georgian clay resources. The kiln will constitute an important tool at the center-- open to both local residents through master classes, and to members of the broader Georgian clay community through short and long term residencies.

All of the efforts of these individuals have truly provided life-giving energy and opportunity to the people in their respective regions.

Please join our team in making his dream and vision for a village train kiln a reality!

For more photos of Bishop Isaiah, the Nikozi monastery, the Nikozi children's art center, Georgian ceramics and general scenes of Georgian urban and natural beauty, particularly ceramics, then please scroll on down...

Here are some photos of the Nikozi art students and instructors at the school, and of the ceramics center under construction.

More scenes from the monastery and Nikozi Children's Arts Education center, which teaches puppetry, puppet making, fiber arts, traditional Georgian Music, classical music, children's shadow theater, ceramics and much more: