Next Up: Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 5:00 PM

MEET DARLEEN WILKERSON 

Tuesday, February 18 at 5:00 PM at the home of Darleen Wilkerson, in the Historic La Quinta Cove at 54175 Avenida Vallejo (Darleen's phone 760-777-1312)

Darleen Wilkerson is an artist and designer who went to Yemen in 1981 to start an art department at a private Yemeni school. While working in Yemen for five years she met and married her current husband (from England) and since that time they have lived and worked in many developing countries around the world.

During the February meeting at Darleen's house in La Quinta Cove Darleen will talk briefly about her 5 year project in Baluchistan, Pakistan with Afghan refugee women. The project aimed to help the poorest of the poor - women who lived a refugee camp outside of Quetta- and which the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) funded. The project was based upon improving their skills and making and selling items made using the women’s traditional embroidery skills. The discussion will cover why this project was such a success, how funding does help women in these types of situations.

Additionally, Darleen will talk briefly about Uzbek textiles (Afghan and Uzbek textiles have much in common) and will talk about the women who she worked with in Uzbekistan. Darleen will share some of these textiles which are colorful, with fantastic artistic patterns and are works of art.

Darleen's art will also be on view to share with the artists who attend this meeting. We will serve Yemeni tea and snacks. This is an informal sharing and talking and your in-put and questions are part of the venue.