My 2 year old son, Kwayedza, seems to talk nonstop these days. One of his favorite things to talk about is “Baba working” (which seems to always include a hand gesture, mimicking a hammer tapping a chisel). His sweet little voice opens my heart, especially when he asks for his boots (his favorite sculpting attire!) and his tiny hammer.
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He chisels and files away at his opal stone while I chip away at my latest piece. Working side by side with him brings me a little closer to home, where I typically sculpt alongside my mother and my uncles. We offer each other artistic advice, intersperse our work with jokes and enjoy listening to Zimbabwean music together while we sculpt.

The creation of a piece doesn’t happen in isolation from family and friends; for me, the latter are integral elements that feed my soul and have a direct impact on the artistic process and finished work. And while I can’t be surrounded by my large family of sculptors these days, I have a pretty good sculptor in training to keep me company and lend inspiration to my work!

1 thought on “My Latest Collaborator

  1. Hi Stalin,
    There is no way I can not comment on this one. The picture of you and Kwayedza and the write up that went with it is truly a treasure. What a gift to be able to create such beauty and have one so young take such an ardent interest in you and what you are creating.
    Thank yo for sharing this,
    Barbara

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