Of the Earth, Of Fire; Sketching a Giant African Land Snail Shell

Fascinated by #snailshells – I use black and ochre earth pigment …

Laying the earth pigments on my sketch paper …

#Fibonaccispirals coils and very satisfying lines..

#lifepatterns that I sketch with earth and ink, using a palm leaf pen…

and always in my mind is the inspiring Chauke Humba legend from my Mahenye community https://wineandwilddogs.art/2023/05/28/around-the-campfire-giant-snailstradition-fire-and-totems/

These coloured earths that I have collected in Mahenye with our community are characterful and gritty

textures telling stories..

Elemental earth, (kaolin related, I think), that I have collected at Kaya Nyala, creates Asemic writing, hieroglyphs on my pages …

In the Chauke Humba story, the fire embers were set on a bed of earth within the snail shell and covered with dung, to safely carry them for a distance-

Giant African snail shell and earth pigment collected at Kaya Nyala

#allthingsconnected – the shell was/is also a perfect receptacle – a palette, to hold earth pigment … #totems #traditions #culture #hlengwe #chaukeclan #mahenye #gazaland #art #chaukehumba #fire #cooking #giantlandsnail #oraltradition #storytelling #southeastzimbabwe #earthpigment #hearth #painting

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About wineandwilddogs

Lin Barrie The Save Valley Conservancy stretches along the upper reaches of the great Save River in the south east of Zimbabwe. The Gonarezhou National Park laps against the southern banks of the Save River and between these two nestles the Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve. These three celebrated wildlife areas form part of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, (GLTFCA)- a unique wilderness jewel which is home to the “Big Five” (endangered Black and White rhinos, elephants, buffalo, lion, leopard) and the ”Little Six” (Klipspringer, Suni, Duiker, Steenbok, Sharpe's Grysbok and Oribi). Endangered African wild dogs, Cheetah, Brown hyena, Bat-eared foxes and a host of special birds and plants contribute to the immense variety of this ecosystem. Communities around the GLTFCA contribute to innovative partnerships with National Parks and the private sector, forming a sound base on which to manage social, economic and environmental issues. This is home to artist and writer Lin Barrie and her life partner, conservationist Clive Stockil. Expressing her hopes, fears and love for this special ecosystem with oil paints on canvas, Lin Barrie believes that the essence of a landscape, person or animal, can only truly be captured by direct observation. Lin Barrie states: “Through my art, and my writing, I feel an intimate connection with the natural world, and from my extensive field sketches of wild animals, people and landscapes, I create larger works on canvas. Lin's work is in various public and private collections in South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Australia, England, Canada, Sweden and the United States of America. She is represented by galleries in South Africa, Zimbabwe, England, Kenya and Florida, USA.
This entry was posted in abstract art, Africa, africa, African Plant Hunter, african wildlife, art, art collaboration, biodiversity, clay, community conservation, cultural beliefs, culture, drawing, earth, earth pigment, ecosystem, environment, family, fire, Fire regimes, food, giant African snail, landscapes, Life Drawing, Lin Barrie Art, lowveld, molluscs, myth, Natural History, Ochre, oral history, paintings, spoken tradition, storytelling, Totem, tradition, traditional craft, Xangana, zimbabwe, Zimbabwe artists, Zimbabwean Art, Zimbabwean history and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to Of the Earth, Of Fire; Sketching a Giant African Land Snail Shell

  1. Beaton's avatar Beaton says:

    Xinyori Xahumba 🔥

    ~B

  2. Pingback: From the Earth, of the Earth; a gift of Art by Ann Gollifer | wine and wild dogs

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