A cyclone, floods, and a last-minute relief effort
Finding a way to help through art in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah
November 30th is our anniversary, but last year my husband and I battened down the hatches and stayed safely indoors. You see, a few days before, Sri Lanka (and the entire region) had been experiencing an unusual amount of heavy rain and some really wild wind.
Initially it had just been raining a lot, nothing too scary. We were busily preparing for a fundraising market that we had committed to — he with the books and stickers his and his brother’s publishing house (Papaya Books) had produced, and me with an absolute buttload of seasonal cards. Excited to be doing our first Christmas market, I had been promoting it like crazy.
I made teasers, quick process videos, and posted all the designs that would be available, trying to hype up my handful of IG followers in the hope that they would drop by the market and buy something. I even arranged to collaborate with one of the other vendors on a special series of pet portraits on Christmas ornaments. Senali’s clay creations with Ivy Ceramics have mesmerised me ever since I attended one of her weekend workshops, so when she suggested this collab I leapt at the opportunity, and we arranged to have our stalls next to each other. The plan was each customer would place an order and supply us with their details in a form along with images of their pets. We would then paint them, take them to the studio to glaze and fire each piece, and then either ship them or have them available for pickup, depending on what each customer wanted.
Unfortunately, Cyclone Ditwah had other plans.
Literally the day before the Saturday market, the cyclone made landfall on the island and tore through it without mercy. Many people, particularly towards the Central Province, were badly affected, with high winds, flash floods and landslides decimating their homes. It’s hard to understand why there was no warning issued, why people in vulnerable areas weren’t evacuated, and why this seemed to be such a huge surprise for many when Sri Lanka has a fully functioning Department of Meteorology.
The scale of the destruction was incomprehensible. There was so much mud. People, animals and entire houses were simply swept away or buried. The only thing that gave us a glimmer of hope was watching the well documented rescue efforts, and seeing the country come together to provide relief for those who had lost everything. People donated funds, dry rations, clothes, and volunteered themselves and their vehicles to pitch in. We’re good in a crisis.
Senali and I decided we wanted to do something too. Since there had been such a positive reaction to the ornaments we had planned to make at the now postponed market, we decided to go ahead with it anyway, but this time divert the funds to the relief effort. We made a few calls, posted a flyer advertising the change of plans, and set up shop at a local cafe.
Having a lot more experience with customers and sales, Senali took the lead on taking orders. She had come prepared with a box of assorted shapes that she had made in her workshop earlier — all I had to do was paint onto them. Painting on ceramics was still new to me at the time so there was a bit of a learning curve for me, but I think they came out okay.
The first phase of the fundraiser was a success, and we took on a lot more orders than we thought we would. We took on even more when the market finally happened a week later. The ‘Pawnaments’ were a great way to meet new people. Their pets were adorable, but I think it’s more than just a coincidence that the portraits of our own dogs seemed to come out the best (see Milo below, alongside Senali’s Frodo).
In the end it was a LOT of hard work, but we managed to raise a good amount which we donated in full to a selection of organisations involved in relief and rescue — for humans and animals alike.
And it was wonderful seeing the finished product with customers. One screenshot which I saved but will keep private had messages with one customer in tears because the pup she had wanted painted was one that had run away months prior. Just seeing her pooch’s face in painted form had moved her. Knowing that she teared up made me emotional too.
As much as this was in aid of a very tangible crisis, we both learned a lot from this endeavour as artists with a business. There are definitely things we could have planned better, like maybe not taking on 65 individually painted ceramic ornaments 2 weeks before Christmas! In all seriousness though, this was an eye-opener. One that I hope I get to do again soon.
Oh, and the cards sold alright too! Since I covered my print costs, I posted a few to friends too — here’s one that made it all the way to Wales for Kate Philbin 🎄✨
And that’s that for a weirdly Christmassy post in the middle of April! Until next time. ☃️