Joan Merry and Don Lyons who have traveled the world and most extensively on the African continent have grown to love her people, animals and geography. In the early 1990s during one of their trips they went to Zimbabwe's capital Harare and stayed with Elizabeth Nugent, an authority on the art in that area. She took them to the studios of sculptors and painters and showed them the difference between "roadside" art and the real thing, the difference between soapstone and the better stone.
It was on that trip that they bought a few pieces for their own use and it was suggested by friends that they bring back more pieces the next time with the possibility of selling them. The following year they bought several crates of sculpture and it was a nice success for the artists and for Joni and Don. Few artists ever have the chance to show in the US.
They feel it is important to pay what the artists ask and respect the fact that it is very expensive to obtain the raw materials for each piece. Each is labor intensive, one of a kind, and worth the investment.
The art is paid for in US cash which happily is finally the currency accepted in the Zimbabwe. The economy is still badly broken with unemployment at 80%. Prior to the currency change, it took 3 billion Zimbabwe dollars to equal one US dollar. A brutal dictatorship continues and the poor live in desperate conditions. The life expectancy is thought to be under 40 years mostly due to AIDS and a poor diet. With all the hardships it seems the people always have hope for a better future.
