Consultant Ceramist. Ceramiques d’Afrique d’Abidjan. Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. Sept. 1998 to July 2000. Developing a silver-impregnated, ceramic water filter that is easy to produce, low cost and sustainable.
Co-Director / Founder. Ceramiques d’Afrique, Training Center, Gbottoye, N’zerekore, Guinea. Nov. 1996 to Aug. 1998. Developing products: stoneware, light weight concrete roof tiles, water filters and an appropriate technology foundry. Introduced cook stoves widely, to use 50% of wood fuel previously used.
Appropriate Technology Consultant. the American Refugee Committee, N’zerekore, Guinea. August 1997 to July 1998. Training Guineans and Liberian and Sierra Leonian refugees in appropriate technology and ceramics. (see above)
Consultant. Nairobi University, Housing and Building Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya. July to Oct. 1996.
Consultant, Western Ceramic Industries, Ltd., Nairobi, Kenya. May to Oct. 1996.
Consultant. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Nairobi, Kenya. Jan. to Apr. 1996. Conducted an assessment of Kenya’s ceramic industry, and strategies for its development.
Consultant. Khartoum University, Building and Roads Research Institute, Khartoum, Sudan. Aug. to Dec. 1995.
United Nations Volunteer, Ceramic Designer and Trainer. El Obeid Vocational Centre, El Obeid, Sudan. July 1994 to July 1995. Worked in a Women in Development (WID) program with Sudanese ceramists on income generating projects.
Founder / Manager. ATTIC, Northampton, Mass., USA. Sept. 1992 to July 1994. Consulted in ceramic processes. Fabricated production equipment. Made available ceramic technical papers.
Consultant. Sponsored by U.S. Peace Corps and Jamaican government, Kingston, Jamaica. Oct. 1993. Demonstrated for Jamaican ceramists an air-release, ceramic press, subsequently sold to Jamaican government.
Visiting artist. University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Ceramics Department. Sept. 1992 to May 1993.
Instructor. The Guild Studio School, Northampton, MA, and conducted workshops at the Rhode Island School of Design, the Parsons School of Design, and numerous secondary schools and craft centers. May 1991 to July 1994.
Self-employed ceramic designer. Sept. 1991 to Sept. 1992. Piloted production of improved ceramic industrial dies.
Consultant. Assisted Costan Rican and Nicaraguan ceramists. Jan. 1991 and May 1990.
Citizens’ organizer and fund raiser. Clean Water Action, Northampton, Mass., Feb. 1990 to Sept. 1991.
Self-employed ceramic designer. Geoplay, Main St., Andover, NY. May 1989 to Feb. 1990. Produced porcelain, flower containers.
Production Technician. New Frontiers of Alfred, NY. May 1988 to May 1989. Assisted in manufacture of ceramic tiles and tableware, and models, molds and dies.
Co-founder / Organizer. VITA / Alfred (Volunteers in Technical Assistance), Alfred University chapter. Sept. 1986 to May 1988. Consulting and providing information on appropriate technology for developing country ceramists.
Editor. The Ceramic Connection. VITA / Alfred newsletter. Sept. 1986 to May 1988.
Co-founder / Manager. Spectrum Inc., Monrovia, Liberia. 1977 to 1983. Fabricated stained glass windows for twelve Liberian churches, Episcopal, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Evangelical, etc. Trained Liberians in glass art and management.
Liberian government instructor of glass arts. Merged Educational Project, Robertsport, Liberia. 1976-77.
Instructor / Artist, Episcopal High School, Robertsport, Liberia. 1971 to 1977. Fabricated stained glass windows for four, Liberian Episcopal churches and for St. James Episcopal Church, Mt. Vernon, Virginia, USA.
Developing filter candles of both earthenware and porous concrete. Dec. 1998 to present
Developed fuel efficient, portable cook stoves, using Guinean resources. Developed ovens and foundries, and light weight concrete roof tiles. Feb. 1997 to July 1998.
Developed an effective, low-cost ceramic water filter, impregnated with silver, adapted from Guatamalan and Swiss prototypes; enabling appropriate technology, household water purification. Sept. 1996.
Developed a ceramic crucible material for melting glass, using Kenyan materials. Apr. to June 1996.
Designed an environmentally-sound, vertical tunnel kiln, adapted from an Asian model. The Khartoum University, Building and Road Research Institute. Aug. to Dec. 1995. Consulted in initial construction.
Received notices of issue, U.S. design patents, D348,416 and D348,417, based on cermaic containers. July 1994.
Developed an appropriate technology, air-release ceramic press, minimizing start-up costs of ceramists for fast production. Aug. 1993.
Received notices of issue, U.S. design patents, D315,531 and D320,764. Oct. and Mar. 1991.
Presentations at the American Ceramic Society annual convention, Design Division:
A Sustainable, Low-Cost Water Filter for At-Risk Populations, Co-author, May 2000
Designing Building Materials for Sub-Saharan Africa, on an energy efficient, vertical tunnel kiln, designed to burn carbonized agricultural waste, not wood. Apr. 1996.
Tabletop in Sudan, a Different Set of Issues, on ceramics and training in Sudan. May 1995.
A Low-Cost, Air-Release Press for Fast, Ceramic Production. May 1994.
Cottage Industries of Ceramics: a New Approach to Development. Apr. 1990.
Scove Kiln Technology and Refractory Brick. A methodology for production of low-cost, appropriate technology refractories. Apr. 1989.
Co-author, A Sustainable Ceramic Water Filter for Household Purification. (Poster presentation) The NSF Small Water Systems and Wastewater Systems Conference, Phoenix, AZ, USA, Jan. 2000.
Using Palm Kernel Shells As an Organic Aggregate in Concrete Roof Tiles. BASIN News, newsletter of the Building Advisory Service and Information Network. Nov. 1999.
A Ceramic Safari in East Africa - Kenya. A feature article in the magazine, Ceramics Technical. Nov. 1997.
A Ceramic Safari in East Africa - Sudan. Ceramics Technical. July 1996.
Ceramic Building Materials as an Option in Economic and Healthful Housing. The Conference on Economic and Healthful Housing, Khartoum, Sudan. Mar. 1995.
Pressing Ceramics with Air-Release. A manual descibing and simplifying a primary, fast production process for forming ceramic ware. Dec. 1993.
Ceramics in Developing Countries. A feature article in The American Ceramic Society Bulletin. Dec. 1991.
Plaster of Paris: Techniques from Scratch. A comprehensive, illustrated manual on do-it-yourself model and mold making for ceramists. May 1991.
A Studio Grows in West Africa. A feature article in the magazine, Stained Glass. Spring 1980.
Macintosh and IBM compatible applications: Pagemaker, Illustrator, Photoshop, Web and e-mail applications. Desktop publishing.
Awarded B.F.A., Ceramic Design. New York State Collage of Ceramics at Alfred Univerity. Alfred, NY. 1988.
B.F.A. exhibition, Geometric Interaction - a concept in mold cast porcelain and mold blown glass. May 1986.
Vice Chair, American Ceramic Society, Design Division. 1995.
Secretary, American Ceramic Society, Design Division. 1994.
Voice of America interview, featuring the manual, Pressing Ceramics with Air-Release. Nov.1993.
Voice of America interview, featuring the manual, Plaster of Paris: Techniques from Scratch. May 1993.
(Note: Both manuals were circulated by the radio program
producer to over 200 NGOs worldwide.)
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