Cushion Cover from the Keiskamma Art Project - Blog Auction

Welcome to the Keiskamma Blog's first on-line auction! of a piece made at the wonderful Keiskamma Art Project in South Africa. The idea for this came from a blog called the Darfur Project - (Bags4Darfur). Joyce has drawn attention to this blog on hers - thanks Joyce!



Here's how it works: You look at the cushion cover and fall in love with it. (The one you will be bidding on is above, with detailed images of the same cushion cover below). You go to the comments section and place your bid. The minimum bid is $30.00 (CDN) for this piece. The bidding will close at 9pm Mountain Time. To log into the comments you need a gmail account, or you should be able to log in as 'anonymous.' Be sure and leave your name and check back to see if you've 'won' the bidding. The successful bidder and I will make arrangements for shipping etc. The ENTIRE amount that is bid on the cushion cover will go to the Keiskamma Art Project. Not only will you be getting a beautiful embroidery, but you can feel great about donating to an excellent cause.


The cushion cover measures 15 and 1/2" x 15 and 1/2" and does not come with a cushion.


Please read the following tidbits about the embroideries, the cows, and the art project, sent to me by Annette and Florence Danais, the art project manager.

Let the bidding begin!

From Florence:

In the mid nineteenth century, with the arrival of white men hungry for land, the Xhosa were horrified to see their grazing absorbed. In a climate of confusion, fear and anger, as war raged and their territory shrank, the people gave credence to the prophesies of Nongqawusi, an adolescent girl who claimed to have seen strange visitors emerging from the mists of her coastal home. These visitors told her that the Xhosa people must purify themselves by the destruction of their crops and the slaughter of their cattle. If they did this, new cattle would rise out of the sea, new crops would fill their barns, and the white men would be driven from their lands and into the ocean.

Such was the desperation of the people that many listened. Great chiefs came to the river mouth where she lived, and looking down the cliffs into the river, saw the shadowy forms of cattle under the water, their horns breaking the surface. They were convinced, and returned home oversee the slaughter and destruction of everything they had. With every disappointment, the killing of the Xhosa cattle grew more desperate, but nothing happened. Finally, starving and defeated, the nation collapsed. Thus began years of subjugation, ending only with the democratic elections of 1994.

Since 2000, the Xhosa artists from the Keiskamma Art Project bring their cattle back to life. They are restoring their wealth and pride through their art.

From Annette:

Cows are absolutely central to Xhosa society. They are ancient symbols of wealth and health and the centre of traditional spirituality. One of the things I love about the Keiskamma art project is that the use of cows by women in embroidery is actually terribly subversive as cows are traditionally and still today are cared for only by men. Men are only allowed in the cattle kraal. Women may not enter—only once are they allowed in when they are being given in marriage—boys and men milk the cows and tend to them.

So the use of the strength of cows as the central image in all the Keiskamma embroideries also signals the strength of women and also an appropriate sign of health and well-being. The Keiskamma art project keeps nearly 130 women in this area regularly and fairly employed. We train them in marketing managing and development of skills. We offer regular workshops in various art and craft techniques from world-class artists who visit and teach. In an area of over 90 % unemployment these women are often the only wage earners in extended families and the vast majority have taken in aids orphans as well. Many are HIV positive themselves and have lost husbands and children to the disease.

The women who sew together at the project also have formed a strong social support group as well. They truly are the strength of this community.