Date
June 7, 2006
Contact
Kristie Phelps
(757) 423-0093
In Defense of Animals
3010 Kerner Blvd
San Rafael
CA 94901
IDA is an international, California-based animal advocacy organization dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by defending their rights, welfare and habitats.
Pittsboro Woman Named IDA’s “Guardian of the Month”
Famed Potter, Sculptor and Gourmet Cook Loves Rescuing Animals
Pittsboro, N.C.—Entering Siglinda Scarpa’s kitchen is like walking into a cottage in Tuscany. You are greeted first by amazing aromas emanating from the cast-iron stove, which occupies a central place in the house. Siglinda’s gorgeous terra cotta pots—made using ancient Italian firing methods—adorn the stove. And everywhere you look are cats—napping in the traditional stone bread baking racks, curled up in baskets scattered throughout the house—each with an Italian name. At the center of it all is Siglinda, famed potter and sculptor, gourmet Tuscan cook, animal rescuer extraordinaire, and now In Defense of Animals (IDA)’s Guardian of the Month for June.
IDA, an international animal protection organization with more than 80,000 members worldwide, is proud to honor Siglinda’s compassionate commitment to animals.
Siglinda strongly supports IDA’s guardian campaign, which celebrates the human-animal bond by encouraging use of the term “guardian” rather than the outdated “owner” to recognize and facilitate a deeper level of respect, compassion, and responsibility toward animal companions. She urges people to “Be kind to the animals. They are not less than we are. They have the same feelings, the same rights.”
In addition to her cats, many other animals make their home at Goathouse Gallery and Gardens, Siglinda’s 15-acre property in Pittsboro. The residents include goats, turkeys, guinea hens, chickens, geese and five dogs. Siglinda says her heart breaks at the thought of dogs and cats being euthanized in shelters. She often takes the most unadoptable dogs from local shelters, the ones whose time is up, fosters them and finds loving homes through her extensive network of artists, art patrons and friends.
Her other rescues include a one-ton bull that she rescued from a slaughterhouse when he was only a few days old (she scooped him up in her arms and drove off in her car). Named Fiordaliso—the Italian name for the bachelor’s button flower—the bull now lives at a sanctuary for farmed animals in North Carolina. To this day, when Siglinda visits Fiordaliso, he runs to her and rubs his giant head against her.
Siglinda is also an accomplished vegetarian cook. This month she will host “Cucinando Col Cuore,” (Cooking from the Heart), a gourmet dinner to benefit local animal rescue groups at her gallery and gardens. She will host 85 people a night, serving a gourmet Tuscan dinner cooked in her famous cooking pots and served on handmade plates. The banquet has been sold out for months, but $10 raffle tickets are being sold that will give the winner a free week’s stay at Siglinda’s Tuscan villa. More information about the raffle, DVD and Siglinda’s acclaimed art can be found at www.siglindascarpa.com.
For more information on IDA’s Guardian Campaign, visit www.GuardianCampaign.com.