Sunday, February 1, 2026

Art from the South of Africa

In one of her first "Sunday in the Art Room" posts, Nicole wrote about some pieces of art she has that are from African countries . So today I want to show you a few pieces of art that my daughter brought back from South Africa and Malawi, a country in southeastern Africa.

The mugs on top are from South Africa. Through UC Davis, Kaefer did an internship in Cape Town in 2018. There she found the two mugs on the left - the elephant one is hers, the girafe one is mine. Both are broken, unfortunately, and when she moved to Germany she left the elephant mug for me. Both mugs now house my watercolor brushes and charcoal and graphite pencils. The mug on the right she bought for me in 2024 when she returned to Cape Town for an epidemiology conference. This one I use for my morning coffee - I am very careful with it because I don't want it to break as well.

The fabric elephant is also from South Africa. I have always loved the joyful colors of fabrics from African countries - the colors are actually a bit more brilliant in real life than in the photo. It usually sits right next to the mugs on my lazy Susan so that it doesn't feel lonely...

Art can be practical as you can see here:

Akshar is a heavy duty cement manufactured by Shayona Cement, Malawi's largest local cement manufacturer. Cement is filled into very strong sacks  and bags, and from these shopping bags are made with a strip of beautifully patterned fabric on top. I use this bag for my weekly shopping trips to Trader Joe's and as a you would expect from a cement bag, it can carry a lot. Recycling at its best!

But Kaefer also brought some paintings from Malawi where she goes every year for work for a couple weeks. This is one she gifted to us and I like it so much. She has three more in her home in Germany, one from the same artist as the one above. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find any information about the artist. Here are Kaefer's paintings, decorating her living room and kitchen.



All of these beautiful or practical pieces are for SITAR.


18 comments:

DVArtist said...

You can send those mugs to me. LOL They are beautiful as is the rest of the art. I do enjoy African art. Thank you so much for sharing these with SITAR. Have a lovely day today.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Oh, I just love all of this art! ALL OF IT! I need to learn how to do the "dotting technique" of painting for a piece I want to do. I'm not sure what kind of tool to use for it, so I'm trying to find that out.

Christine said...

Beautiful art from South Africa

Kathylorraine said...

Good morning I so enjoyed your post-Beautiful art-love the mugs too

Tom said...

...Carola, all of these are wonderful and so colorful!

Open Your Heart to Gardening said...

Beautiful art. Thank you for sharing.

Linda's Relaxing Lair said...

Dear Carola, these pieces are all gorgeous! Beautiful art from South Africa!

My name is Erika. said...

These are fabulous. I really loved the mugs. They definitely feel like they are sub-Saharan Africa. And are quite fun too. Thanks for letting me know about my link to SITAR. Happy new week. hugs-Erika

David M. Gascoigne, said...

It’s all very appealing, Carola, and the personal connection via Kaefer makes it even more so. African art is very vibrant indeed. I am sure those broken mugs will remain treasures. Many hugs - David

Michelle said...

I like the vibrancy of African art. These are beautiful pieces.

Jeanie said...

You have some really gorgeous pieces. The colors are just fantastic, so warm and bright and alive!

Teresa said...

Las pinturas me encantan, son preciosas. Besos.

The Rev. Arnoldo L. Romero, MLA said...

Wow! I love those mugs and paintings that your daughter got for you from South Africa. Blessings, my friend!

Veronica Lee said...

I really love the vibrancy of African art-- so full of life and color.
These pieces are not only beautiful to look at but also carry such meaningful stories behind them.
Happy Saturday, Carola!

Lowcarb team member said...

Lovely to see this art and those mugs are wonderful.

All the best Jan

Mae Travels said...

Beautiful pottery and art work!

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

All of the mugs and the artwork too are lovely and so colorful that they must certainly bring you joy to look at them, Carola. It was nice to be gifted by your daughter.

Gillena Cox said...

Very nice, Carola

My Sunday post is
HERE

much love