Textiles in Tema and other reasons to go there



Kente cloth: Hand woven in strips and stitched together

Recently I went to Tema, a large, industrial port town near Accra.  One of the guidebooks suggests that there is no reason to visit Tema.  Maybe that is true for the casual tourist.  Tema has a lot to offer to a person who lives here.  You will need to bring a cooler. 

If you can get up early, the International fish market or the local makes a great stop.  The fish, shellfish and other offerings are fresh and you can get your items deboned for a small fee.  Other must see markets are a couple of Korean grocery stores and Malicat (also known as Calumet), the German butcher shop. The German butcher absolutely has the best sausages and frankfurters I have had in Ghana. 

Lawrence and his assistant in their shop

My friends and I focused on textiles during this trip to Tema.  Our first fabric stop was to Lawrence and his kente shop.  Sometimes members of his workshop come to Accra to craft markets but only at the studio can you see the full range of products and the kente weavers.  In the large chests are bedspread sized kente that chief wear during special occasions.

discussing the embroidered elements in this teal kente

Our next stop was an open air batik studio.  One of our group ordered a personalized batik print from Eveline's batik studio.  Personalized batiks are a great way to get an affordable fabric for a small group.


The batik workshop



At the end of a busy morning, the place I like to go to relax is the garden-like atmosphere of Arirang, a Korean Restaurant.

Last Post update: Congratulations to KG who won the 500th design give away!

Ironing the batik with an old fashioned metal iron

Eveline owns the shop, she is holding up some batik

dye buckets and boiling kettles

Rooster resting on an upside-down grocery cart

New Line of Ghana Fantastic Floral Series and Giveaway

This past week, I released my 500th design for sale at my Spoonflower shop.  I am giving away 2 yards of my fabric--any fabric, any of my designs.  To enter the drawing, comment on your favorite fabric either in my shop or on this post.  For a second entry, give it a heart on Spoonflower.  Contest ends Friday, October 14. Featured in the photo, one of my new designs, Ghana Fantastic Floral on Black Petite.

Ghana Fantastic Floral Black Petite

NesKael Fashion show

Last Friday I  attended the Neskael Corporate Fashion show a precursor to Ghana Fashion week happening October 21-23.  The focus of the Neskael show was to promote the use of African textiles, particularly Ghanaian fabrics, in the workplace.  It is custom to wear African print in the office environment on Fridays.  The rest of the week most people in the workplace wear Western style business clothes.  One of the goals of the Neskael Corporate Fashion show is to promote greater use of African textiles during the week which in turn is meant to encourage economic development.  The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative arts is also promoting the idea and was one of the patrons of the event.
Several Ghanaian textiles were highlighted in the event.  GTP, a African wax printer in Ghana and one of the designers in the show, has line of fabrics 100% Ghanaian. In this line, the cotton used is grown, milled and printed in various regions of Ghana.  The collection from The Tailor used a grey and white paisley design from Woodin, another Ghanaian fabric printer.  The designer, Safora, uses the woven material of a traditional smock popular here, called a fugu or batakari. 
The models for each designer of clothing or accessories did a traditional walk down the catwalk to party music.  At the end of the each collection's presentation, the models grouped together to do a dance or other display.  I enjoyed this so much I put together a little video of some of these dances.  This also gives you an opportunity to see the clothes without viewing the entire presentation.  Also included in the video is a snippet of the performance from guest artist Sherifa Gunu.  Not all designers or performers at the event are included in the video.

Ghanian Artist Spotlight: Seth Clottey and Reflections Class

Seth Clottey introducing his painting philosophy

This past week I had the pleasure of attending another Eat and Paint event.  At these events, a well-known guest artist spends an evening with us, sharing his/her painting techniques on a small project.  This event featured Seth Clottey.  Seth graduated from Ghanatta College of Art.  He is a frequent traveler and has exhibited in West Africa, Europe, the United States and Japan.
Seth primarily paints landscapes and is most interested in the play of light on water and reflections.  The theme for our event was a wet city street.
Seth shared with us that when he begins to sketch a design for a new painting, he prefers to begin directly with a pallete knife. He said "pencils are limited," "I 'feel' it with the knife," "the knife allows me to get to the heart of it." A pencil would be too fiddly to be compatible with the gestural and impressionistic quality of his work.  After his initial discussion he allowed us to rough sketch a city scene from memory. 


Painting in oil by Seth Clottey

Next, we blocked in the sky with the pallete knife and then blended the strokes with paint brushes and created a wash for the 'wet' area of the canvas.  We followed this by sketching in suggestions of detail, such as cars, trees, stories of buildings and people.
At this point we took a break for our gourmet dinner.  Dinner consists of bite size gourmet items and drink of choice.  It is quite tasty with many different flavors.  The break is also a nice time to walk around and see how others are coming on their canvas.


Discussing how to block out your sketch in paint

We finished the evening creating highlights and reflections with the pallet knife and filling in some details with the brushes.  Seth's style of painting is quite different from my own work and it expanded my repertoire.  
A Unique Opportunity:  Seth is offering a short term artist in residence program.  In his vision an artist would come and stay with him for a time and he would share his techniques while you paint together.  If you are interested in more information, please contact him at (+233) 244 613 189 or at his gmail account, lyvnright.
There will be a second workshop available on October 4th.  Contact Eat and Paint for reservations.

my sketch and starting to fill in some details








break for dinner--delicious gourmet food



paintings in progress



my painting finished for the night



Painting in oil by Seth Clottey

Anna dress

Sprout Patterns pre-prints a pattern on fabric using Spoonflower fabric designs and lays it out perfectly.  I have made Sprout Pattern, Short Anna Dress, which is the design of By Hand London. I chose to make in using my Hexie Roses Deep Hues pattern in cotton poplin.  The cotton poplin has a nice hand and is a good fabric for hot weather.  There is a long skirted version available as well. 
When you purchase the pre printed pattern, you also receive a link to sewing directions and the pattern, should you want to create it again.  I found the directions clear and sewing the Short Ana Dress simple.  Sprout also offers a 'White Glove Service', that is, you can pay an additional fee to have select patterns sewn for you.

Art Swap - USA edition

I am friends with a lot of terrific artists from the art doll making community.  One of these friends suggested a paper based swap and I jumped at the opportunity.  I sent each of my partners a different 1ft x 2ft wallpaper sheet from my designs.  In return, these treasures arrived in the mail.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Untitled by Cody Goodin, digital image

Untitled by Dot Lewallen, bead, marker, ink, paper collage

'Doodle Do' by Emily Eckel, linocut

'Out in the Garden' by Karen Mallory, collage

 

Birch Trees by Judi Wellnitz, mixed media on paper

Christmas in August

The traditional summer months of the United States are actually the coolest months of the year in Ghana. It's the closest thing to winter here although it is known as the rainy season.  Once you are acclimated to the local climate it actually feels cool at night.
So, thinking of 'winter', I began playing with some cartoon style Santas and seasonal greenery of a United States Christmas time.  The designs are listed clockwise:

Cartoon Santa Vintage Styles

Cartoon Black Santa Head on Green and Stars

Christmas Holiday Décor

Cartoon White Santa Head on Green and Stars

Painterly Christmas Holiday Décor

A vintage Christmas design contest has begun at Spoonflower.  I have no design in this contest but the entries are very good.  Please consider voting. 

Continuing on the winter theme, I went through my Christmas Card stash and noticed that I still have a few cards left from Senegal.  These became my canvas for some fun new Christmas card collages.