Arts and Crafts
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Zimbabwe
In Zimbabwe, Shona sculptors carve remarkable sculptures from serpentine stone. The sculptors have an "intuitive feel for the stone." They look at a rough, uncarved stone, and visualize the face that is there, the human face they will give the stone. Stone carving requires specialized tools and weeks of hard work; but soap carving can be done easily.
Soap sculpting
Materials needed:
Bars of soap (Ivory works best for carving)
Butter knives
Potato peelers
Nails
Plastic tablecloth or covering
Cover the work space with a plastic table covering. Distribute bars of soap. Using knives and potato peelers, carve an image from the bar of soap. Use nails to poke in eyes, add texture, and so forth. Remember to plan the carving before starting!
Can you carve a Christ figure? A cross? An African animal? Encourage younger carvers to try simple things--a cross, or simple animal. Or carve Noah's ark--if you use Ivory soap, it should float!
Avoid waste by moistening soap scraps and squeezing them together into a soap ball.
The Ndbele people who live in Zimbabwe and South Africa make beautiful beaded jewelry. The women traditionally begin wearing necklaces and
bracelets when they are young girls. They never take them off and add more jewelry as they get older.
Though the Ndbele generally use small seed beads, this project will go much more quickly if larger pony beads are used.
Beaded bracelet
Materials needed:
Glass or plastic pony beads (preferably at least three colors)
3 feet of thin wire per bracelet
Needlenose pliers or old scissors
Place two beads of the same color in the middle of the 3 ft. wire. Place two beads of another color on next, and bend the wire so that these two beads are side by side with the first beads. Push the other end of the wire through the second beads. Add the third bead color to one wire, put it side by side with the second, and put the other wire through it. Continue adding lines of beads in the color pattern.
When the bracelet is long enough to reach around the widest part of your hand, string the wire through the first set of beads, and then the second. Carefully cut the remaining wire so that it does not scratch when putting it on.