Traveler's Backpack (Rucksack)

I mentioned in my Cape Town travelogue that I planned on using some fabric I purchased there.  I decided to use it and some of the Shweshwe to create a backpack to replace the one I have carried around for years that is now MIA.  There are a lot of patterns out there for children's backpacks but I was looking for a more grown up model but something more practical than the City backpack patterns that I have run across.  I began by looking at my husband's pack and taking measurements and ideas from it and what I remembered of my old, favorite pack.  I wrote down the measurements, sketched my ideas and began cutting!
One of the hardest parts was lining up the curved areas for sewing. I must have pinned some areas 5 times! Sewing through all of those layers was no picnic either, especially since the bag has more layer than is visible- it is lined with yellow polyester inside and quilted on the back.  I used the lining to make it easier to see the interior and because it will wipe down better.  I used my zipperfoot to guide me when sewing the area with the cording.  I felt the one of the ubiquitous beaded keychains made just the right touch for finishing the look of it. 
Now I am ready to be on my way and with a very special souvenir from my time in this country.  My eldest son complimented my bag saying it looked like I bought it from a street vendor. 

One of the most helpful tips in this process was a Youtube video on putting in zippers.  I have always slopped through the zippers but why do that when Youtube is a wealth of knowledge?  My favorite series of videos were by Candi Cane-Canncel.  They ought to have a link to follow from one video to the next but you can look for the tell-tale pink fabric.

Mosaic in Pretoria

Mosaic is a very popular art form in Pretoria and as far as I can tell throughout South Africa.  Even tiny gift and craft stores carry Mosaic supplies and there are several studios where you can go to Mosaic much like the stores to paint pottery in the United States.  A South African craft magazine, Craftwise, seems to have a mosaic article every month.  Due to the prevalence of mosaic the boys and I decided to make mosaic picture frames for dad at the i Create Studio.  It is really amazing how their artwork reflects their personality.

Here are some photos of mosaic in the community.  Badec Bros has a cool mosaic along a busy street out side their showroom. House numbers are often done in an artistic way in Pretoria. Even the side of a building may be done in mosaic.

There are several examples of mosaic in restaurants, the most obvious is Restaurant Mosaic, with it's beautiful mosaics of Mucha's designs.  La Pentola has a large tree mosaic on one of the back walls. Notice the mosaic pillars at Cafe 41 or the beautiful giant garden pots at Braza. (As an aside, take time to look at the interesting menus of these restaurants as well.)  Most mosaic is in interior spaces that I don't have access to but at the bottom of the page are some photos from the web that show the kind of designs popular with crafters.    The photos are from http://www.craftycorner.co.za/ which has some free step by step classes online.

Child Doll Show at the Johannesburg Art Gallery

This weekend my husband and I visited the Johannesburg Art Gallery. The Gallery is located in downtown Johannesburg, an area I have never visited until now.  Downtown streets and sidewalks in the area are packed with sidewalk vendors, taxi stands and people making it quite hard to drive down the road.  It is a contrast to the areas of South Africa I usually visit and I got to see why this country is called overcrowded.  The Gallery is located in Jobert Park.  As my husband and I strolled through the park to the museum we passed crowds of  people picnicing and lounging in the grass watching Manchester verses Liverpool on a large flat screen TV.  
In the gallery, the exibits were interesting but surprisingly few items were on display. The website says that the Gallery has only 10% of its collected works on display and I wonder, with all of the empty space why more of their inventory was not on show.  I enjoyed looking at the exhibit on the first two black South African women to have their own shows, one in the 1940's and the other in the 1960's.  The Dutch master paintings and prints were interesting as well.  The exhibit that intriqued me the most, however, since I am a doll maker, was Play, Ritual and Inspiration: the Phansi Museum Collection of Southern African Child Figures. (The Phansi Museum is a Southern African crafts museum in Durban.) 
The picture above is reprentative of some of the Southern African 'Child' dolls.  She is from the Ndebele tribe, created in the early 1900's, made of glass beads, sinew, wood.  This photo was found on the Jacaranda Tribal blog, an African fine arts dealer.
Child dolls are found in many styles from the various tribes through out Southern Africa.  The dolls were created by women.  In some tribes the dolls were given to a man the woman was interested in as a part of courtship.  A man might keep several dolls until he made his decision of which woman to marry.  In other tribes girls were given the dolls to care for until she had a child of her own.  Dolls were also used in fertility rituals.  A terrific selection of dolls of the various tribes with photographs of girls and women in traditional dress can be found Gallery Ezakwantu.

Dolls today:  The child doll is no longer used in the tradional ways, the styles of doll seen in the Gallery Ezakwantu links created today are largely sold to the tourist market.  If you are interested in ways dolls are used today there is a great doll project called the Uthando Project.  The project aims to assist with healing of children who have lost one or both parents from AIDS.  The website has a free pattern that you can use to make dolls to donate.

One Year Later

View of downtown with Jacarundas in bloom

So, here we are, the first anniversary of my arrival in South Africa.  It seems time to write down some of my observations about this country.

Pretoria (Tswane) is a town with many different peoples.  There are the locals plus the very large diplomatic community.  Still, Pretoria’s white population is largely Afrikaans.  The Afrikaners have been very friendly to my husband and me.  They are quite helpful and also very free with their opinions.  It is always insightful to hear what they have to say.

My husband and I do not get much contact with black South Africans.  Most of our interactions are formal and work related.  I have found out that it is very important to spend a couple of minutes asking how the person is and about their family before conducting business. Even on the telephone with a customer service person.  Anything else is considered rude.  Aside from these pleasantries, in my experience, most black South Africans do not like to share.  Other black Africans are talkative and tell me all about their culture, customs and opinions.  I am wondering if this is one of the legacies of Apartheid.

American entertainment is worldwide.   And people believe it is real.  Hey, it must be true if it is on a reality program, right?  How about those talk shows? Luckily, there are enough Americans here that I can point out that we are not all like that.  Jersey Shore is very popular here; I get asked about it frequently.  I hear Jerry Springer mentioned a lot too.  And everyone believes Americans are all rich.  I think that is a worldwide myth.

South Africans like babies.  I realize a lot of the world does but my little girl gets fawned on everyday by all kinds of people.  Many Americans act like they would rather not see or hear about your baby unless they have one themselves.

South Africans do not put up good signage.  They seem to think everyone already knows where everything is.  If you are going to an event you are lucky to get an address.  Even festivals may not have signs—or if they do, it might not be near the entrance, turn-off, etc.

You can get most things here that are available in the States.  You will pay, though.  About twice as much for toys.  Maybe 50% more for clothes.  Cosmetics and toiletries are also almost double the price.  Automobiles and gas are crazy expensive.  Restaurants and services are generally cheaper.  Private medical care is excellent and cheaper than what you would pay in America.

South Africans are proud.  And they should be.  They have accomplished a lot and they have a beautiful country with an excellent climate.  They are beginning to be environmentally conscious.  The wine here is very good.  We have met many, many entrepreneurs.  They are also realistic about their challenges.  There is still incredibly high unemployment.  Crime is violent.  There is a lot of theft.  But the mood of the country is mostly optimistic.

Speaking like a local:

American                            South African (English)

Trunk (of a car)                   Boot

Crazy                                     Boss

Sweet or nice                       Lekker

Cart                                       Trolley

Elevator                                Lift

Soccer                                   Football

Aaaw! or Cute!                    Shame!

Really?                                  Is it?

Gas                                        Petrol

Truck                                     Bakkie

Sneakers/Tennis Shoes     Tekkies/Tackies                               

Sheesh! or Geez!                Eish!

Barbeque                             Braai     

Ganster or Hoodlum          Tsotsi                   

In a while                             Just Now

In a minute/Soon               Now Now

Traffic Light                         Robot

South African Wine

My US friends left behind suggested that I write a little about South Africa, so from time to time I will deviate from my arts related focus of the blog. 
I want to state I am no wine expert.  I just know what I like when I taste it.  It has been fun to explore the local wines here with my husband.  Wine is South Africa is much less expensive than at home and a decent bottle can be picked up for $7-10 (R49-70.)  We have been warned not to buy wine from the supermarket but the selection is so vast I can't help picking up a bottle.  Sure enough the best bottles have not come from the grocery store. 
In the foreground of the picture are my two favorite so far, Alto Rouge and Barbarossa Maria Carbernet Sauvignon.  The farmers markets here serve alcohol (including shots of tequila at one of them, but that's another story) and after buying one glass of Alto Rouge my husband and I had to buy a bottle.  The Barbarossa was a gift from our sponsors when we arrived.
The bottle of Giant Mistake lying down in the photo I purchased totally for the label.  The wine didn't live up to its name but it was not very good either.  The other bottles have been lightweights but for the most part drinkable.  I hope to visit some wineries when we travel down towards Cape Town in a few months.