Tag Archives: Loibor Siret

Mural Magic in Tanzania

A major reason for my return to African People & Wildlife (APW) in Tanzania was to help with murals in 3 rural schools. The students created the designs using their own drawings and some images I supplied, then I made stencils to help transfer the outlines onto the walls quickly. The stencils proved very helpful and as a result it took each set of students only 1 day to finish their murals.

The name of the school and village (Loibor Siret, Kangala or Narakauo) is shown at the top of each wall, and the school’s Wildlife Club name is at the bottom. The Wildlife Clubs were set up with help from APW, and Noloholo is APW’s Environmental Center and headquarters. So Noloholo Simba Klabu means Noloholo Lion Club in Swahili. The other schools have twiga (giraffe) and faru (rhinoceros) as their symbols. I am making more stencils out of canvas (featuring different animals for other Wildlife Clubs) so more murals can be created by the students with help from APW.

I have visited APW 4 times, and every time I am struck by their continued success in “finding the balance for communities & wildlife”. There will be much more about my recent visit coming soon!

Learn more about African People & Wildlife.
Read about my previous visits to APW.

Thanks for watching!
Alison
www.ArtInspiredbyAfrica.com

Music on this video is royalty free, titled Acoustic Breeze, from www.Bensound.com

Murals in Tanzania

Painting on a wall while standing on a wobbly plank balanced between 2 wobbly supports, is something many artists will have done I’m guessing.

Drawing out the initial mural design African People & Wildlife

I was visiting African People & Wildlife, near Tarangire National Park, learning about the organization and their successful work with communities to allow people and wildlife to co-exist on the Maasai Steppe. Part of my visit involved art-related activities and on this occasion I was drawing out the design for a mural at the Loibor Siret primary school, so that the students could paint it. We were designing as we went along but it worked out well.

Mural design photo: Deirdre Leowinata / AfricanPeople&Wildlife

Some of the paint literally slipped off the wall as we painted it on, so we have nothing red in the finished mural. And the brushes lost so many hairs that the lions took on a far more realistic look than I could have possibly hoped for!

photo: Deirdre Leowinata / AfricanPeople&Wildlife

But many enthusiastic and capable hands made the whole experience great, and sometimes the trials are what the best memories are made of. I’m going back in June and this time the designs are being drawn up by the students, winners will be decided in advance, and with a bit of luck, 3 schools will end up with colorful murals designed and painted by members of the school community. However, this time I’m bringing brushes with me, and we’ll buy a different kind of paint. Live and learn!

Alison
www.ArtInspiredbyAfrica.com

Painting at a school in Tanzania

Where is the Lion’s Eye? You can find out more in my video on the Africa Geographic Website!
Art of Africa – Where is the Lion’s Eye?

Take care and have a wonderful weekend!

Until next time…
Alison

Art Inspired by Africa and Conservation
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Nicholls Wildlife Art

Mother's Milk Field Sketch by Alison Nicholls © 2014

This sketch captures everything I enjoy about field sketching. People. Animals. Color and pattern. Speed. Simplicity.

You might be thinking that it doesn’t look all that simple, as it contains a woman, her child, a cow and a calf, plus the brightly colored, patterned shuka. But in reality, the sketch was very simple. The heads of the woman and her child are just simple shapes and I didn’t include the pattern on the shuka, just lines to show the main folds. The cow required more detail, just to get the perspective right and perhaps most importantly, to show that the woman’s head is leaning against the cow’s flank, highlighting the connection between them. Although the shuka covers the calabash the milk is being collected in, you can still tell what is happening here. I did many pencil sketches in quick succession on this morning, then added watercolor later that day (I don’t use photos or video to do this and I always finish my field sketches in the field, so that I can honestly say they were completed on site).

I am, as ever, grateful to the friendly people of Loibor Siret in Tanzania who allowed me the wonderful opportunity to sketch in their home. I am packing up copies of all the sketches I did that day to send to them. I am also grateful for the opportunity to stay with the African People & Wildlife Fund who are doing great work with communities on the Maasai Steppe of northern Tanzania.

Learn more about the valuable work of the African People & Wildlife Fund on the Maasai Steppe in Tanzania.

See more of my African Field Sketches.

Until next time…
Alison

Art Inspired by Africa and Conservation
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Nicholls Wildlife Art

Alison Nicholls being dressed in shukas.

Alison Nicholls at Loibor Siret School in Tanzania photos by African People & Wildlife Fund/Deirdre Leowinata

Shukas are the pieces of cloth, often patterned and brightly colored, which are worn by the Maasai of East Africa.
So why am I being dressed in shukas in this photo? Because I was asked to be Guest of Honor at the Loibor Siret Primary School for their end of school prize-giving ceremony!

I was visiting Tanzania to stay with the African People & Wildlife Fund, who are based close to Tarangire National Park. I have visited 3 times now, sketching on site and learning about their work helping communities manage their natural resources for the mutual benefit of people & wildlife. During my visits I have taught a number of drawing classes at the school but on this trip I had also arranged to stencil some of the classrooms, paint one of the end walls of the school, and hang the village of Loibor Siret’s first artwork exhibition (more posts about all this will be coming soon). It was an unexpected and very pleasant surprise to be asked to be guest of honor at the school closing a couple of days later. I knew I would be asked to give a short speech so I wrote it in English and asked Everest, who works at APW, to translate it into KiSwahili for me (the language that everyone learns at school in Tanzania). I think there was a little doubt that I would be able to read the speech in KiSwahili, but it is written phonetically so after a couple of practices I was fairly understandable! In the speech I congratulated the students who were to receive prizes, but reminded all the others that they should work hard because they too have the gift of education, a gift which can help them, their families, their community and their country.

Alison Nicholls at Loibor Siret Primary School, Tanzania

Alison Nicholls at Loibor Siret School, Tanzania photos by African People & Wildlife Fund/Deirdre Leowinata

After the speech was the prize-giving, where children received gifts of books, pencils and protractor sets. I also gave 2 prizes of laminated copies of my paintings, for the best girl and boy in the art class the previous day. Then it was announced that there was a gift for me and I was dressed in my 4 shukas by 2 of the girls.
I’m so pleased to have a real Maasai outfit. Now I just need to start collecting the jewelry!

Learn more about the valuable work of the African People & Wildlife Fund on the Maasai Steppe in Tanzania.

Until next time…
Alison

Art Inspired by Africa and Conservation
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Nicholls Wildlife Art

Shimmer and Shukas Field Sketch by Alison Nicholls

Shimmer & Shukas was painted during a day-long Maasai ceremony in Loibor Siret, northern Tanzania. The women were dazzling in their vibrant shukas, covered with beaded necklaces, headbands, earrings, arm & ankle bracelets. As usual, I started my sketch with a very light pencil drawing and then, a couple of hours later, while the ceremony continued around me, I added the watercolor.

The ceremony itself was for a group of moran (warriors), who were embarking on the long process of becoming elders. The men had just finished drinking calabashes of milk and a slight halt was called in the proceedings while the cows headed out to pasture. I had asked permission to sketch and saw this group of women nearby, so I began. Their beaded jewelry is mostly white, with areas of blue & yellow, while small metal disks on thin chains hang from almost every piece – hence the “shimmer” in the title of the sketch. Painting white beads and shiny metal disks on white paper can be a challenge, so I didn’t paint them, instead I painted around them, using the colors of the dark skin and bright shukas to define the jewelry.

So why was I sketching in a Maasai engang (homestead) in Tanzania? Because I was revisiting the African People & Wildlife Fund (APW), an organization I have been supporting for several years now. APW has created numerous positive benefits for communities on the Maasai Steppe. Local children have the opportunity to attend an environmental summercamp and receive a scholarship for high school education. Human-wildlife conflict has been reduced by the innovative Living Walls program. Women’s groups can apply for grants to start a small business. The community has asked APW for, and received, data and environmental education, allowing them to make good long-term decisions about their land and water use. APW’s impact has been possible due to the creation of a permanent base in the area and their close links with local communities, who provide the vast majority of their staff.

Perhaps the most wonderful thing for me, was to be remembered by some of these friendly and welcoming people from my previous visits. They encouraged me to sketch and were always interested in seeing my work. I will be sending copies of my sketches back to APW so they can be given to all the people who were in them. Next week I’ll show you video of my work at the Loibor Siret school, but in the meantime I’d like to thank Dr Laly Lichtenfeld and Charles Trout for inviting me to return to Noloholo, and all the APW staff, particularly Joyce Ndakaru, for their help and support. Asanteni sana!

Learn more about the valuable work of the African People & Wildlife Fund on the Maasai Steppe in Tanzania.

See more of my African Field Sketches.

Until next time…
Alison

Art Inspired by Africa and Conservation
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Nicholls Wildlife Art

What did I do in Tanzania? photo by African People & Wildlife Fund/Deirdre Leowinata

Any guesses?
Yes, stencils were involved (hence the use of the question mark in this photo).

I just returned home from 10 more inspirational days with the African People & Wildlife Fund (APW), part of which was spent helping students from Loibor Siret Primary School stencil 2 of their classroom walls with letters, numbers and local animals. Here are a few photos showing the progress.

Painting in Tanzania - photo by African People Wildlife Fund/Deirdre Leowinata

Mixing the Undercoat Paint – photo by African People Wildlife Fund/Deirdre Leowinata

Taping the Edge of the Windows – photo by African People Wildlife Fund/Deirdre Leowinata

Painting the Undercoat – photo by African People Wildlife Fund/Deirdre Leowinata

Drawing Class - photo by African People Wildlife Fund/Deirdre Leowinata

A Drawing Class in one of the Stenciled Classrooms – photo by African People Wildlife Fund/Deirdre Leowinata

Me Pulling a Face. But Look How Good the Wall Behind Me Is! – Photo by African People Wildlife Fund/Deirdre Leowinata

It was wonderful to be back, to see familiar faces at APW, among the children, the teachers and in the village. We also painted one of the end walls of the school (visible to everyone who passes through Loibor Siret), held a Village Exhibit and I was thrilled to be asked to be the Guest of Honor at the closing of school. More photos, sketches & video about all of these events will be coming in the next few posts.

I arrived home exhausted after flying via Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam, Amsterdam, Boston & JFK (my bag deserted me between Boston & JFK but caught up with me the following day). And in the shower I finally managed to remove the last of the blue paint from under my fingernails. I was almost sorry to see it go. Almost!

Learn more about the valuable work of the African People & Wildlife Fund on the Maasai Steppe in Tanzania.

Until next time…
Alison

Art Inspired by Africa and Conservation
Visit my Website
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Nicholls Wildlife Art