Wine to Water Benefit at Espresso News June 20

Story by Corinne Saunders

Jeff Martin’s ceramic works will be for sale at Espresso News on Saturday, June 20. Twenty-five percent of his proceeds will benefit the local charity Wine to Water. Photo submitted

Last week, Wine to Water, in conjunction with Jeff Martin Ceramics, jointly hosted a live art event at the Wine to Water headquarters on King Street.

For those who missed it, another such event will take place at Espresso News in downtown Boone on Saturday, June 20, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

The benefit will “get the community together to enjoy some wine, food, music and each other, and at the end of the night, a chunk of money is going directly to helping someone,” said Jeff Martin.

Martin will sell his unique wine goblets, oil paintings and ceramic pieces, and will also do some live painting during the event, he said.

Fiber artist Katie Park will sell her works with yarn, and Sean Matthews, who teaches at ASU and co-founded The Collective artists’ studio, will have metal and mixed media works available at the event.

Along with samples of wine and finger food, double-dutch jumping rope will be held in the parking lot if the weather permits. The Stitch ‘n Bitch group will also attend.

“It’s a good place for the community to get together,” Martin said.

Twenty-five percent of Martin’s proceeds will go to the nonprofit organization Wine to Water that has provided clean water and sanitation in villages in Sudan, India, Cambodia, Uganda, Ethiopia and Haiti.

Wine to Water will provide information on the many opportunities individuals and the local community have to help poverty-stricken people in other countries.

“Doing something as simple as providing clean water to a village saves a lot of lives,” Martin said, adding that it also makes the circle of his work more complete. “I do shows and [exhibitions at] galleries, and a portion of the money always goes to them,” Martin said.

When he teams up for events with Wine to Water, however, instead of a cut of the proceeds going to profit a business, it directly benefits people in dire need of necessities such as clean water.

In other countries, young children must walk miles to obtain clean water; this provides a stark contrast to how common it is here to pass people on the street here carrying water bottles around with them, Martin said.

Jeff Martin will do a live painting at the event at Espresso News on June 20. He will also sell finished paintings. Photo submitted

“We have so much excess,” he said. “Here we take [clean water] for granted.”

Martin works primarily with two mediums: sgraffito ceramics, which involve carving pots to show another color underneath, and oil paintings, “in which I also implement sgraffito techniques,” he said.

During college, Martin secured an internship with a local potter, and continued with the artform since then. For the past three or four years, he has been creating ceramic pieces fulltime, and additionally began painting recently.

“Art will always be a part of my life [and] I’m thankful I can make a living from it,” Martin said.

“I want to generate enough money to fund a well myself,” he said, adding that each village well Wine to Water installs costs $400 to $500.

Martin’s long-term vision includes traveling with the “worthwhile charity” sometime in the future to experience the well installation firsthand.

Teaming up with Wine to Water for monthly events is already planned out through September, with a continuation into the fall if the benefits are successful, Martin said.

The next such event will be held Friday, July 3, at Our Daily Bread.

For more information about Wine to Water, click to www.winetowater.org.

For more information or to offer artistic talents, ideas or time to the events, call Jeff Martin at 828-773-7360 or email jeffmartinceramics@mac.com.

For his blog, click to www.jeffmartinceramics.blogspot.com.