Sawsan’s career as an artist began in 2001 with a glass course led by Faten Nastas, the current chair of visual arts at the Dar al-Kalima College, and an accomplished artist in her own right. This glass course was a 9-month, full-time, certificate course which taught Sawsan all kinds of glass work techniques, including mosaic, stained glass, and fused glass. Sawsan also took additional glass workshops in 2003 and 2005, and courses in other artforms as well, including silver jewelry-making, glass bead-making, recycled paper, and Byzantine iconography. Sawsan is a part-time art teacher at the Lutheran School in Beit Sahour, and says she got the job at the Lutheran School because of her excellent qualifications in different kinds of art.

Sawsan supports her family with the income she receives from her teaching job at the Lutheran School and from selling her artwork. Her husband runs a convenience store, but the store’s economic situation is not good because with the economy in such bad shape, people buy things on store credit and then do not pay. Sawsan’s sister, Samia, says that they can work full-time, but that they need more orders to cover their time and expenses, and to make a good living. Between Sawsan, Layali and Samia, there are 13 children to care for, so the income they receive from selling their artwork through The Cave Gift Shop is very important in sustaining their families. The sisters’ niece, Nisreen, also started working with them recently; Nisreen graduated from high school last year and is engaged to be married. The income she receives from her work is helping her save some money to start married life with her husband.

As the women learn through their work, ideas for new projects come up, and with them, the need for new equipment or materials. Right now, Sawsan is hoping to save enough money to buy a special saw for her workshop, but it is very expensive. Since Sawsan works with The Cave Arts & Crafts Center and sells her art through the Gift Shop, the manager of the program is now working to purchase this piece of equipment for the workshops at Dar Annadwa, where The Cave is based. This way, many artists could benefit from using this piece of equipment, and Sawsan can pursue her new ideas without such a great overhead cost.

The Cave Arts & Crafts Center strives to help local artists and preserve traditional arts and crafts by offering courses, improving access to materials and equipment, and providing a market for the sale of art items. Since so many of the artists are women, there is an added benefit of helping women to have some financial independence, which is a rare thing in a patriarchal society such as Palestine’s. Many women artists also feel a boost in their self-confidence from their work – they enjoy expressing themselves and creating beautiful objects for others to enjoy, and they also feel like they have more control over their lives when they are productive and earning an income. In this way, they are creating a better future for themselves through their work, and elevating the status of women and artists in Palestinian society.

The best way to support artists like Sawsan and her sisters is to shop at The Cave. Please visit us online at www.cave.annadwa.org, or if you are in Bethlehem, please stop by our gift shop, located in the International Center of Bethlehem (Dar Annadwa).

If you would like to support the infrastructure of The Cave by donating to the equipment fund, please contact Doris Warrell, the US Coordinator for the Bright Stars of Bethlehem organization.