A new book by Goldie Spieler

This excellent read comes from the mouth of an extraordinary lady; the book reads as though she’s telling you her life story. That life narrative takes you through her highs and lows, but also a large slice of how life carries on in Barbados, day by day.

Her world famous Earthworks Pottery is at the core of the story, but she takes off sideways to tell of her early life in Canada, visits to Israel and her new home in Bequia. Weaved through this adventurous story are the trials and tribulation of her ‘Cause’ to move Barbados Pottery onto a firmer footing. This is the story of an artist who becomes an entrepreneur, almost by mistake and certainly without any of the financial or marketing skills required. Her dealings with local officialdom will have produced many hours of laughter on both sides.

So what’s it all about?

This book tells the heartwarming story of a young artist who came to the island of Barbados to recover from a personal tragedy, stayed to follow her Muse, became dedicated to the Cause of preserving the art of pottery making on the island and eventually founded Earthworks Pottery, one of the most successful businesses in the Caribbean, for which she was honored as Entrepreneur of the Year in 1997. But this book also tracks the story of the author’s own personal spiritual journey, which has taken her from the synagogues of her native Canada to the dusty streets of Jerusalem and to a fateful day at a Bajan tent meeting. It’s a remarkable story of one woman’s lifelong journey as an artist and a human being.

Goldie Spieler was born and raised in a traditional Jewish family in Ontario, Canada and graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design. Although originally a watercolor and pen-and-ink artist, she became dedicated to the cause of preserving the art of pottery making in her adopted home of Barbados, a 300-year-old tradition, and eventually built her own Earthworks Pottery, one of the leading craftware businesses in the Caribbean region.

If you’re a local or you’ve visited Barbados as a tourist, you’ll no doubt have a piece of her pottery in your home right now. Many, like our home, show off numerous selections from the hundreds of choices. They’re one of the world’s tenth wonders. If you visit Café Sol in St Lawrence Gap, you’ll see broken pieces of pottery making their outside wall into a wonderful mosaic. Then you’ll eat off an earthworks plate.

• Hardcover: 274 pages
• Publisher: Yeoman House Books; First North American edition (March 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 098226593X
• ISBN-13: 978-0982265932