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| ART
& CRAFTS GALLERY | | | |
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| Master
potter Lillian Munyai was born in 1962 and lives at Mukondeni Village near Elim,
Venda. | | She
was instructed in the art of pottery by her mother from the age of eight. |
| Lillian’s
pots are decorated with stark graphic and linear designs. |
| Her
pots are made in the traditional way, that has accompanied her matrilineal line
for centuries. | | Clay
is dug from the local riverbank and treated for 2-3 days before the pots are shaped.
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are stained with Luvhundi (red ochre soil) and graphite, and left to dry for one
month. | | The
pots are fired in an open fire consisting of layers of grass and wood. |
| Lilians
pots are decorated with stark graphic and linear designs. |
| Snakes,
fish and plants being central to themes portrayed on these masterfully crafted
pots. | |
Her works are widely collected both privately and in the corporate sector. |
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APPRENTICE
TO THE EARTH
(by Stephanie Donau) |
The
drive to Mukondeni is a tedious snake, a winding earth road.
Once there, it's
not that difficult to find Lilian's house, it is guarded by a moat of every kind
of pottery.
There are always people there: children, grown-ups, people helping to knead clay,
people talking.
Lilian is a warm hearted professional, after all, this business
has coursed through her veins for generations.
Her mother has taught her the
art of making pots since Lilian was eight
years old.
She clearly remembers her grandmother using wet blankets to keep
the clay covered in the days before plastic.
Pottery has been with the Venda
from the very beginning (shards were found at Mapungupwe) to carry, store and
prepare water, beer and food.
Lilian's grandmother and great grandmother made
these pots to traditional design and specification.
To make clay pots the traditional way consists
of many facets, each one being a journey.
No
wheels are used, electric or otherwise.
No chemical glazes are applied.
No electric kiln to fire in.
This tradition is the domain of Lilian Munyani.
But it is Lilian who has moved from this tradition into a realm through which
she expresses her own unique creativity within her pottery.
Her pots now
extend into gigantic feats of earth, shaped in human hands, colossal vessels and
flower-pots.
The designs in graphite
move organically on the surface, sometimes shining, other times swallowing itself,
as is the nature of the mineral.
Being a witness
to this process instills in one a sense of awe.
It is a process that demands great knowledge of where to obtain materials, and
patience (pots take up to one month to dry and skill).
Watching Lilian work
is an honour, since all things previously mentioned, combine in a slow dance between
the earth and the potters hands. | |
Mukondeni
arts and crafts has been instrumental in the establishment of the following:
The Mashamba Art Gallery
Self Help projects
An Artist and a Cultural village |
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