Artists and amateurs have been creative over the summer, shaping and decorating individual and unique ceramic cups, 200 of them, which will be for sale Saturday evening, Sept. 12, at a barn party at Hope Orchards, at Hope Corner. The public is invited to attend, buy cups and help support communities in Nepal that were devastated last spring by the earthquakes.

The 200 Cups for Nepal party/fundraiser takes place at Hope Orchards, the home and business of Brien and Emily Davis. The cost is $10 person. The cups will be for sale, and some will be auctioned.

“Over the course of the summer, local community members and ceramicists from all over the state and beyond have signed on to create a cup from clay to sell at a fundraising event in an effort to support the rebuilding of Nepal,” said Avery Larned, who has organized the effort. 

The first 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck 48 miles northwest of Nepal's capital Kathmandu April 25, killing thousands of people. More than two dozen people were also reported killed in neighbouring India, China and Bangladesh. 

On 12 May, an earthquake measuring 7.3 magnitude struck Nepal, with an epicenter northeast of Kathmandu.

According to the United Nations, as of May, the earthquakes:

Killed 8,617 people

Injured 16,808

Displaced 2.8 million

Affected 5.6 million

Left more than 1 million in need of food assistance

Damaged 26 hospitals

Destroyed more than 473,000 houses

Hope Clay was invited by the Partners of Enrichment program last spring to set up shop at the Hope Elementary School and work with students at lunch recess on the playground. The purpose allowed the students experiment and experience a new artistic medium without the pressure of attending a class.

“Under a tent in the shade, I sat at the wheel showing kids how to throw an cylinder, offering them a chance to get their hands dirty, and left a number of flatten slabs of clay on the table with tons of texture tools for them to play with,” said Larned. “With the kids’ permission, I took those slabs and turned them into cups for the 200 Cups for Nepal event.  Hope Elementary School students, between kindergarten to sixth grade, were the artistic genius of six cups.”

Other cup creators are from the Midcoast and Maine, as well as Nevada and Tennessee, and even France.

Can't attend but would like to support the project? Donate online directly to the Nepal Youth Foundation, through the Hope Clay website (write "Hope Clay 200 Cups for Nepal" in the comments box).