The Lost Art of the Lost Boys

 

I can't thank everyone enough for coming to shop Sunday at the Lost Boys Pop Up.  Linda Amick came with over 180 pieces and we sold about 60.  Linda said that when she told John she was coming to Atlanta for a sale of his and a few of the other boy's ceramics, he told her no one would be interested.   

For those in my neighborhood who knew the boys, it was like a reunion.  Linda brought pictures of John in Sudan with the cows and it was so touching to see him back in his original environment.

If you look at the image above you will see a small brown cow sitting on a piece of paper.  That cow was one of the originals that were made with Michael's (the craft store) clay before they began using glazes,  and the boys would simply paint the statues.   The sad thing about this piece is that the lost boy that made this cow died after he arrived in the United States.  The boys had so many health problems and doctors were so unfamiliar with their illnesses it took forever to diagnose most of them.  A lot had parasites from the things they ate along their journey and in this case, the parasites went undiagnosed and he eventually developed Liver cancer.  Some lucky person purchased this piece and the program underneath it which was from his memorial.  He was twenty-five years old when he died.  I would love to know who purchased this treasure and what the program says, most importantly his name.

These cows are another example of the boys' original process where they simply painted the clay.  I love the primitive look and had to have these for myself.

Here are the water buffalo and hippo that I also bought and you can definitely tell a difference in the old and new once you see the glazed pieces.

Having these guys here on my desk makes me so happy.

John and the other boys were shocked at the interest and total sales we made.  We will have another sale before Christmas so stay tuned.  In the meantime, maybe we can convince the boys to start sculpting again.