Day 26 . 18 .05.2011

Unexpected Wednesdays

Today was one of those unplanned days. My family and I woke up early in the morning, went to go vote, and after treated ourselves to a lovely breakfast at Tasha’s in Constantia Village. We split up and went our separate ways to do the things we had planned to do individually and then met up to attend an exhibition, by someone who is very close to the family, Zwelethu Mthethwa.

Just a few hours ago, we attended the opening of the exhibition “New Works’, which was held at iART Gallery, 71 Loop Street, and will be running until the 29 June 2011. The collection of work displayed was divided into two categories, ‘The end of an era’ and ‘the brave ones’. Both extremely strong concepts and each image beautifully captured his vision accurately.

Thembinkosi Goniwe clearly states that in this series of works, “The former engages with young Shembe devotees participating in the annual church ceremony of a group found predominantly in KwaZulu-Natal, while the latter reflects on the living conditions of migrant workers laboring in the mines and industrial firms of urban areas of Johannesburg and Durban” in the short notes in Zwelethu Mthethwa’s photography of interiors and exteriors.

Here are some of the images from tonight.

                                      'The brave ones' and 'The end of an era" collection

                                                                My father and my mother

My sister Latoya

                                                                      My sister Naledi

                                                                           The ladies

                                                        Naledi taking the lead yet again

                                                            The girls and our old man

                                            Zwelethu Mthethwa and thats me on the right

We ended off the night, at a restaurant near-by, with some fine wine and good food. Thanks for the great conversation and much needed laughs fam.

Checking out

Lees



Day 19 . 11.05.2011

What I did today...

All lectures were attended and more. I set up a meeting with the gallery manager for the 12th May. I bumped into Uncle Zwelethu Mthethwa (South African artist and photographer and his work can be seen on post 9) who has invited my family to his exhibition next Wednesday, at the gallery called Iart in Cape Town. An investment was made on red leather shorts. I went out for a little snack with my sister Naledi Radebe at Lazaris. Now I am on the grind to complete as much work as possible for tomorrow. There is major work to be done tomorrow.

Checking out

Lees

Day 9 . 01.05.2011

Thoughts on what to print on

I have a deep love for fine art, as I studied it in High School. I also grew up playing with oil paints, smelling newly stretched canvases, as well as feeling on the old and chipped easel my great-grandpa had in his studio.  I have also secretly always wanted to be able to paint, so printing my pieces on canvas and stretching it, contribute to my dreams of being an artist.

People usually print on canvas paper /sheets, or they print on watercolour paper, fabriano or the normal photo paper and frame it. It gives it a lustrous and professional look, which is always the best option. I won’t lie, it is much cheaper to print on canvas and stretch it, then printing on canvas and then framing it. It looks good both ways. It is also easier to manage when exhibiting, to have a stretched canvas piece that is. 

I took a few images of work in my home, to give you an indication of what I mean by sizing. My constant question is how far I am willing to go with sizes, and whether or not those particular sizes compliment one another.

Artisit : Me - This piece is size A2

( its landscape but slightly narrow in comparison to the previous piece)

 

                                           Artist : Poppy  -This piece is size A0 ( its landscape)

              Artist :   Zwelethu Mthethwa   This piece is size A0

( its landscape but slightly narrow in comparison to the previous piece)

                                                     

    Artist : Me     This piece is size A2 ( its landscape)

Decisions, decisions, decisions! I am fortunate to not be getting too much pressure from my printers, so I can look into more sizes and options in what to print on at a later stage. That’s all for today folks.

Checking out

Lees