kenya

weaver bird: report from Matangwe

June 12, 2013 by Birdbrain 2 Comments

Amos put a comment on my blog yesterday. If you click on the wedding rug in the photoblog section you can read it. Amos is one of the people whom I taught to hook in Matangwe, Kenya. Through some kind of wired magic the residents of this small village on the other side of the world, a village without electricity or clean water, are in touch with me–they send emails, read my blog and are my friends on Face Book. Amos was an eager rug hooking student. His very first piece, below, was beautiful. He designed it himself.

I am showing you the reverse side for two reasons. First, so you can see the quality of Amos’ hooking, but also so you will notice the label. I’ve had these on the blog before–they are a collaborative design between Alice, one of the Matangwe students, and my friend and great designer, Melanie. This is just the beginning of what we hope will be a sustainable project for the men and women of Matangwe.

Amos has certainly been doing his part to further the craft of rug hooking in the Matangwe area. Below is a photo he sent of some of his students. You can see him in the front row. These women are using hooks and burlap which were donated by rug hookers in Belleville and Kingston Ontario. We are hoping to find a source for burlap in Africa but in the meantime, we will need more hooks and burlap for my visit next January. I am hoping to have some donated at the area hook-ins in the fall which I will be attending. This is just a small way that we can set the people of Kenya on the path to self-suffiency. More on this later! In the meantime, congratulations to Amos and the rug hookers of Matangwe.

in the studio

March 5, 2013 by Birdbrain 1 Comment

I have been making some new bags with the wonderful Kenyan fabric as lining. I think this blue and orange dot is my favourite. Some of these bags I am making are orders and others are just inspiration. The one pictured here is close to completion. I am also working on a much-needed revamping of my shop so that you can see what is available and be able to purchase it easily. I hope to have this completed within a few weeks. In the meantime, please just send an email if you are interested in anything you see.

Below is my pile of new books and a couple of articles on Marimekko. I highly recommend the two new books on sketching by Danny Gregory and James Richards; and the top book, by Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer, presents a convincing argument for setting aside old fears and habits and going after our own creative renaissance . As for Marimekko, I have been a big fan of these colourful graphics since the 60’s–you may remember the aprons I made, pictured in this post. The textile museum in Toronto has a Marimekko retrospective on until April 21st and I definitely plan to attend. In the meantime, I have been letting my imagination run wild with the fabrics below.

new Luna and 4 Jan bags

March 2, 2013 by Birdbrain 1 Comment

One of the best ways for me to process a significant experience is to throw myself into the activity of ‘making’. I learned last year that a month in Kenya, living alongside the people there — not travelling to and looking at — but living with them, is a marvellous gift. But it is a gift that takes time to process and then from there to take action. I’ve learned that I do my best processing when I am involved in making something. I’ve been sketching from the photos I took while there. I love the elegance of the women as they go about their daily chores and I am trying to capture that in my sketches. And I’ve been in the studio working with some leather and evocative pieces of cotton. For me, the leather and lining of each bag tell a story. The leather has had a former life–and the lining evokes the day, the place and the emotion surrounding its purchase or creation. Heavy freight for a bag you throw your wallet and your lunch in? Yes, maybe. But it is where my mind goes when I am making and how I work the memories and the plans into the texture of my days.

Below is the Bondo Luna bag made from 2 remnants of pebbly chocolate leather and a small piece of the Montreal black biker leather pants. Inside is the cotton fabric bought in the Bondo market. The colours are the colours of Bondo. The bag is 13″x12″x4″ with an adjustable shoulder strap, two interior leather pockets and a zipper closing.

And then I have been making some small shoulder bags out of various pieces of recycled leather. These measure approximately 6″x6″ with a shoulder strap of 43″. They have a pocket both outside and inside and a snap closure. Update March 4: the turquoise and black bags are sold.

And again, the lining tells its story…

holding my breath

February 28, 2013 by Birdbrain 1 Comment

These are the lively and crowded streets of Bondo, Kenya. This town is 7km from Matangwe where I taught school and rug hooking for a month and over 60 km from Kisumu, the third largest city in Kenya. I loved visiting Bondo — the market was full of activity with vendors selling produce and other goods. In the last post I shared pictures of the booths which lined the street with women (and a few men) sewing on treadle machines. The food market had any locally grown produce you could wish for — if you could afford it.

However, it only took a second for the bustling, lively shoppers to become a huge crowd blocking all traffic on the highway when a string of trucks and vans pulled into town with one of the ODM candidates. The candidate had a loud speaker system and he brought the crowd to cheers and jeers within minutes. It felt like it wouldn’t take much for this huge crowd to become a mob.

And now as it comes closer to March 4, election day, reports in the press of potential violence are becoming more frequent. No one wants a repeat of the violence of 2007. But I am holding my breath, worried about my friends as they face this event. The schools are closed for a week for the election. Let us all hope that the children and teachers can return to school next week unharmed by the corruption and violence that characterized the last election.

the colours of Matangwe: Kenya report #2

January 31, 2013 by Birdbrain 3 Comments

Work on the new school continues and in the meantime some of the students are in tents and some under the trees. We had a big storm yesterday and everyone ran for cover. No one complained–in this very dry country every drop of rain is appreciated.

matangwe inspiration

March 4, 2012 by Birdbrain 1 Comment

Here are three drawings done by the grade 6 students in Matangwe. It was fascinating to watch them deeply absorbed in the task of representing their homes for an audience of Canadian students. These students do not often have the opportunity to lose themselves in a creative task. The results were amazing–incorporating colour, unique design forms and flights of fantasy which reminded me of early hooked rugs and paintings.

These drawings are evocative for me–I can’t look at them without remembering the sunshine filtered through red dust, the glorious bird song and the earnest, hopeful faces. I am in the process of designing a rug with houses, as I have mentioned here before. I am sure that the drawings of these children will now have an influence on that process. I am just beginning a chair seat as a trial for the rug design–working out colours and shapes–and I hope to base it loosely on these drawings. I love the flower on the roof, the elaborate blocks and the wreath of flowers around the house, not to mention the trees and the figures of mother and cat.

My trip to Kenya has made me realize that gifts come in many ways, and often when you least expect them.

odiochienge na mabeyo e kenya (my wonderful time in Kenya) Part II

February 29, 2012 by Birdbrain 1 Comment

Matangwe certainly has its beauty. The sunset every night was spectacular as were the moon, the stars and the birds. (above two photos courtesy of Stephen Scott.)

Kisumu, the third largest city in Kenya with a population around 500,000, is on the shores of Lake Victoria. It is a bustling metropolis with much street activity. I made three trips to this city, (not counting the final trip to the airport) to go to the markets and visit the sites. We were lucky enough to make the 60+ minute journey in a truck, but many, many people take a matatu,or a boda boda, or even get there on foot.As interesting and as beautiful as Kenya was, it is ultimately the people you meet who stay in your heart. The students and teachers had a major impact on me–their courage, their determination and their wonderful welcoming openness. Here is the grade six class writing their letters to Canada, followed by a picture of two of the amazing teachers. You may have seen this poster before, but it is worth repeating; it sums up my Kenyan lessons: HOLSTEE – Holstee Manifesto Poster.

african food

February 27, 2012 by Birdbrain 3 Comments

The markets and small vegetable stands along the red clay roads around Matangwe have tomatoes, sweet potatoes and sukuma wiki for sale. This last vegetable is similar to chard or collard greens. Sukuma wiki literally means ‘to stretch the week’ and many families had to do just that, especially in the period of drought they were experiencing.Peta Hall, a wonderful local potter and tireless worker in Ghana, served a great African Stew at a fundraising dinner last year. It contained all of the ingredients mentioned above. Since I am missing Kenya a lot, I decided to make this stew today and thought I would share the recipe. I’ve modified her original recipe a bit. Skuma wiki is often served with ugali–but rice or a good crusty bread may be a preferred substitute. (I never did try ugali, even after much urging.)

African Stew

2 T olive oil

1 large onion chopped, 1 parsnip and 1 carrot peeled and chopped

1 bunch of swiss chard, stems and leaves chopped

1 tsp each ground ginger and cumin

2 cloves garlic minced

2 tsp curry paste

1 28 oz can of tomatoes, low sodium

1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped

1 15 oz can chick peas

salt and pepper and lemon juice to taste

Saute the onions, parsnips, and chard stems until lightly caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add the spices and garlic and cook one minute more. Add the tomatoes and sweet potatoes. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook uncovered until the sweet potatoes are tender. Add the chick peas and swiss chard leaves and cook until warmed through. Season with lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

irresistible fabric

February 26, 2012 by Birdbrain 2 Comments

This is the stack of fabric I brought home from Kenya. I picture small pouches made of these wonderful colours as well as leather bags lined with them–and, maybe some summer tops. Some of these fabrics came from this stand in the Kisumu market. The vendors are a mother and son team who enjoyed posing for this photo. Their fabric was delicious–you can see the pieces I purchased in the foreground. We also bought Kitenge fabric for the women at the community centre in Matangwe to make bags which they will sell on the web.I am particularly fond of this piece as it was given to me by the wife of the principal of the Metangwe school when I visited her and her husband in Bondo. The colours of this all-cotton fabric are stunning; it comes from Tanzania as you can see.I bought these pouches and luggage tags in Nairobi as I couldn’t resist the patterns. They are made in Kenya of a soft durable cotton; the brand is Kanga which is the term for the traditional Kenyan wrap worn by the women.

Bondo and Boda Bodas

February 25, 2012 by Birdbrain Leave a Comment

Bondo is 7 km from Matangwe and the best way to get there is by motorbike, or boda boda, as they are called. Luckily the boda boda station was right across from the clinic.

Sometimes the load of passengers on a boda boda is scary; I saw up to four children without helmets as passengers. For my first ride, I wore a helmet, but then I too got into the local custom, donning a scarf to protect me from the dust and hanging on to the back handle. It is a wonderful way to see the countryside.

Bicycles too are everywhere, almost rivalling Amsterdam.

Even the flour for the students’ lunches is delivered by bicycle.

One of my favourite spots in Bondo was the cyber cafe called The Click. You’d have to say The Click was ‘basic’, and not too reliable. It had about 6 ancient computers–but it seemed magic all the same when Gmail appeared with emails from Canada. The market in Bondo operates on Tuesdays and Fridays. We went to buy flip flops for the students, but I had a chance to wander around the food section before we came home. They had wonderful Tilapia, and tiny fish which the students often had for lunch, cooked in a broth and served with Ugali.