C O L L E E N. T. P E N D E L T O N ' 73

MAKING WHO SHE IS AND WHAT SHE DOES 'SEAMLESS'

Colleen T. Pendleton '73 admits she has always had a penchant for the arts. But that affinity always has had to vie with a need to serve. Since graduating from Trinity, Pendleton has traveled a circuitous route, holding positions that satisfied either one or the other of her interests. About a year and a half ago, those two competing interests converged when Pendleton became marketing manager of Aid to Artisans (ATA), a Farmington, CT-based nonprofit organization that helps to bring new economic opportunities to craftspeople in underdeveloped communities around the world. As the result of her efforts and those of ATA, often centuries-old artistic traditions of countries such as Romania and Peru are preserved and now reflected in gifts and decorative accessories sold by American retailers like Pier 1 Imports, Crate & Barrel, and Pottery Barn.

"I grew up in a family of social workers, so a sense of service has always been present in my life," Pendleton says. "Working at Aid to Artisans has fed my sense of service by allowing me to help people in need," she explains.

ATA, a 21-year-old organization supported primarily by the U.S. Agency for International Development, offers practical assistance to artisans worldwide, working in partnerships to foster artistic traditions, cultural vitality, and community well-being. In her position, Pendleton works with about a dozen consultants or designers who travel throughout the world to identify and then adapt traditional artistic methods and designs to American tastes and market demands.

Valuable cultural studies

A Boston native, Pendleton came to Trinity expecting to pursue a career in teaching after graduation. She followed an existing interest in history and became an intercultural studies major. "What I found interesting was that the program was a mix of literature and economics and sociology. Professor of History and International Studies H. McKim Steele allowed for a broad spectrum of reading. We studied culture from all aspects. I found that valuable."

In 1973, Pendleton earned a teaching certificate from Central Connecticut State University and her desire to serve began to flourish. In her first teaching position, she filled in for a teacher on maternity leave and taught American history and social studies at Bloomfield High School for a year. "I absolutely loved it!" she says. When a surplus of teachers prevented her from getting a full-time teaching job, she accepted a position at the University of Connecticut Medical School as the assistant field coordinator of a five-year study which assessed the effectiveness of preventive dental treatments for middle school students in Springfield, MA. When the program ended in 1980, she was hired by Yale University's department of public health and epidemiology to conduct research into the effects previous abortions had on the health of women during subsequent pregnancies.

Real Art Ways

Pendleton found the opportunity to help people through her research efforts satisfying, but her artistic muse began to beckon. In 1981, she answered that call by becoming a programmer at Hartford's alternative contemporary art center, Real Art Ways (RAW). Among the exhibitions she organized were the premiere of photographer Cindy Sherman's acclaimed self-portraits, in which the artist posed as characters from imaginary 1950s B-movies, and the comic images of photographer William Wegman's dogs, Man Ray and Fay Ray. "We brought some pretty dramatic people to the area at a time when they really were only accessible in New York or Europe," Pendleton recalls.

When the grant that funded her position with RAW ended in 1983, Pendleton used a Trinity connection to get a position that continued to expose her to an artistic and social environment. John C. Chapin, Jr. '70, owner and operator of Shenanigans Restaurant, a landmark place to eat, listen to music, and socialize in downtown Hartford in the 1980s, hired Pendleton, who eventually became the restaurant's general manager. "In its heyday, it was one of the few places in Hartford that had a kind of nightlife ambience to it," she observes.

By 1987, Pendleton was ready for a change. Her appreciation of the social ambience of the restaurant, coupled with a longheld desire to operate an art gallery, prompted her to open Oneta Gallery and Cafe in West Hartford center, a business that sold contemporary crafts for the home and handmade wearables. "Working with artists and being surrounded by art was extremely satisfying," Pendleton says. Patrons of the business were equally satisfied. Sales at the gallery grew at a steady pace of eight percent to 10 percent a year, reaching $200,000 in 1994. In 1995, Niche Magazine honored the gallery as one of the top 100 retailers of American craft in the country.

Tired of the rigors of running a business by herself and still searching for a more satisfying way to serve humanity, Pendleton closed the gallery and joined Aid to Artisans in October 1996. She recently returned in a very upbeat mood from one of the biggest gift fairs in the country -- the New York International Gift Fair where she met with importers and artisans. The reason for her enthusiasm? The placement of a sizeable order for hand-built pottery made by the artisans of Chulucanas in northern Peru will be an economic boon to the tiny village, which has been particularly hard hit by the rains of El Nino. "The product line was a hit! We're very excited," Pendleton said. Her future goal is one that already seems to have guided her throughout her life. "I want to bring who I am and what I do closer together and make the connection more seamless," Pendleton adds.

-Suzanne Zack