THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 23, 1994 TAG: 9412230529
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANCIE LATOUR, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Roz Anglin has been baking up a storm.
For several months, she's been churning out homemade treats for the holidays fresh from the oven of her Cypress Point home.
The ingredients don't exactly make for a family feast: fistfuls of polymer clay, black acrylic paint and colored glass beads. But for dozens of children across Hampton Roads, Anglin's hand-sculpted seals will mean toys and clothes for those who might otherwise go without.
At $10 a pup, Anglin has used her hands, her kitchen and her passion for clay to raise about $300 for the Joy Fund this season.
``It was just word of mouth at first,'' said Anglin, a photographer and aspiring sculptor. ``And now it's just taken off even faster than I had anticipated.''
About this time last year, the idea was a damp, formless, gray-white clump sitting in a tray on Anglin's kitchen counter.
``My husband, David, had gone to bed, and I just sat there, playing around with this wad of clay, thinking what I wanted to do with it,'' Anglin said. When David Anglin saw the smooth, white seal pup with black eyes the next morning, he encouraged his wife to make more.
``At first I figured, `Of course my husband's going to like it,' '' Anglin said, rolling her eyes. ``He's biased. But then everybody who saw them thought they were really endearing, and they would tell other people about them.''
After months of giving the seals to friends, it finally hit her: Someone could actually make some money from this hobby. But Anglin never thought it should be her.
``You can see if you look around, we don't really need the money,'' Anglin said from the porch of her three-bedroom ranch house. Anglin, who has worked as a photographer and a teen counselor, now helps her husband part-time with his insurance firm.
``We're comfortable enough, and I wanted to give something back because I feel fortunate.''
The Anglins, who have no children of their own, have been donating to the Joy Fund since they heard about it eight years ago.
Part of that commitment, Anglin said, comes from knowing that all the money donated goes directly to children's needs.
``So when I realized I wanted to turn my art into some sort of volunteer effort,'' Anglin said, ``immediately the Joy Fund was the first thing that popped into my head.''
What Anglin didn't realize was how quickly the word about her sea mammals would spread. She has sold almost 30.
``I thought I'd just make a dozen of these things, since they seemed to be popular,'' Anglin said. ``Now, well . . . let's just say they're going out as fast as I'm making them. These ones you're seeing here?'' she said, pointing to five seals arranged on a table. ``These are gone, they're sold already.''
Some of the clay pups will be presents for people as far away as Tennessee and North Carolina, Anglin said.
Anglin is known to take special requests on her orders: She has made hot-pink baby seals and a mother-and-baby seal pair for friends of friends.
As Christmas Day drew near, Anglin's oven timer was ticking away while orders continued to come in. She said she would continue molding and baking throughout the week and fill as many orders as possible.
``It really is a win-win-win situation,'' Anglin said. ``I'm doing something I enjoy, the people who buy it are pleased with what they are getting, and the money - all the money - is going to kids who are in need. How much better of a feeling can you get than that?''
Roz Anglin said that she will no longer be able to make seals in time for Christmas presents, but she will continue to take orders and donate the proceeds to the Joy Fund. To place an order, call her at 499-8053. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
TAMARA VONINSKI/Staff
``The money - all the money - is going to kids who are in need,''
Roz Anglin says of the proceeds. ``How much better of a feeling can
you get than that?''
by CNB