My First attempt of a mandala!

This is my first attempt of mandala drawing. I was inspired after watching free spirit by an amazing pre-school teacher who uses unconventional methods of teaching her kids. she uses mandalas to centre and calm the kids as well as to release their creative juices. I needed some centering so i attempted. And i intend to drwa plenty more. The N stands for my name as i am and have to be the centre of my world. The big star and the small stars around it, represent what i see myself as and the potential in me... the yellow represents the sun, because light is necessary for me and my happiness as well as my overall being. Then i tried to work with detail...thats very frustrating and my initial are on the outside, NAKD, stands for Nazia Abdul Karrim Dambha. I worked from the centre outwards, i had to be calm and patient beacuse ur always wanting the final product, so it disciplines me in that way, i also chose bright colours, because they too r essential for me and my being....i worked with oil pastels....very messy! i intend on filling my file with these type of drawing, its beautiful, calming and you never worry about perfection, just going with the flow!

Love pictures from the back... 8/10

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yeah..pushing boundaries.... plain simple! no comment though..hey i have my faults too!

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The tree i spoke about earlier! woman is in the tree! 9/10

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love it! an image from the top! 8/10

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Now here is the one i mentioned earlier....its...in ur face....and too bloody for me...but its another taboo she explores.... its blood in the shape of a vagina or womb.. i dont think its really blood though, it might just be paint...id like to ask her what she was thinking...but art is art and why finger painting as apposed to a brush...it looks more real this way i guess.... um id rather not rate this one... i would be unfair

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Shu, this one is hectic. a butch female lesbian, looking at her breast which has a scar from i dont know what, some kind of operation...she is hot though...an ordinary lesbian, there is something sore about this pic! my first reaction was shu! 7/10

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Thought id make the images bigger, so one can see the details. Here is a picture of a man, naked, Zanele likes to work with nudity, another taboo she explores bravely. yeah, its a beautiful piece. I like the pose, the background, its plain and simple, yet still beautiful....i need another adjective now! very different from her other work though and its not black and white 9/10

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As Zanele goes for the township woman, you can tell this by the the background, also it makes a beautifully different background. These are two lesbian woman, cleary they have taken on the buthch and femm gender roles..which i have issues with if ur gay and a feminist, but thats another story. both look deep in thought, ive never seen an old black lesbian couple, but here they are!

4

oooh, i love the smile on the woman on the right, and that they are big and beautiful. They seem comfortable in their company, but the one on the right seems deep in thought..wait, the both look like they are blissfully reminiscing something..like aaaaahh, that was beautiful! u with me... 8/10

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mmmm, i love this one, its one of my favourite positions, if u r my ex, u would know this...and if u will be in my future, then u best know this lol! but it does look like the woman on the right may be in some kind of of pain as she goes into the feotal position. I particulary like the upside down v shaped created by their right legs...zaneles seems to like that shape in alot of her work..mmm, i also like the background the black sheets and the crinkels on them...sexy 9/10

2

wow, its amazing how much a face can say if we self absorbed humans took the time to just look... this woman looks like one that has been through alot, most have, but its not always visible in ppls face, here it is captured. But she looks like she came out victorious, she looks staunch, bitter and is Saying NO! I will not stand no bullshit, come try me! 8?/10

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Here is three woman lying against each other. I dont know what the scars may represent, perhaps torture as Zanele also takes images of lesbians who have been victims of violence. I like the the V shape created by the way their lying down. art is art, it shoudnt be rated as this is relative but i would say 8/10

More from Zanele

Its 5am, i woke up, cleaned my room, did some filing and then had to come and blog. First thing i went to find more of zanele's work, which i seem to love, not only because she is lesbian but beause her work is amazing and she is South African, so i give thanks and much appreciation and even more exposure. From the work and the exhibitions i have found her work is in ur face, she is not afraid to break boundaries and create art that not many black woman would think off going public with. The themes she seems to cover is that of black women and lesbianism particularly in South Africa and no, not the urban modernised black woman, but the ordinary one in the township. Her work depicts them carrying on with ordinary lives as apposed to what many may think the lesbian lifestyle may be limited to. These are women doing things like bathing, making love, taking walks hand in hand, going to work and the most in my face one, which I'm not such a fan of are the ones of menstruation. Its a vital part of our womanhood and is taboo still, something woman don't talk about much, its like our little secret that we all have, that unites us, but zanele, is like, here it is baby, blood in ur face, vagina's in ur face! other work of hers as u can see explores the body of the so called fat woman, showing that we r so bombarded with western images of the ideal "Paris Hilton" like body that we forget that there are ordinary woman who have beauty..wat ever way it may be, but these woman are fat and also their bodies are a kind of taboo, but Zanele puts gives u fat women in ur face. I also like the few pictures of nature she has taken, one of which a beautiful tree which takes on the shape of a womb or vagina... not very clear what it is, but is beautiful never the less. Think what you may of this woman, but she has talent & is using it unlike so many of us who are.... too afraid of our own possible success. she has been recognised, awarded and funded by some frendch org, she is both an artist and gay activists with one of her own orgs. enjoy! i will put up each piece with a comment!

I promise myself!

Promise Myself To be so strong that nothing can disturb my peace of mind. To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person I meet. To make all my friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them. To look at the sunny side of everything and make my optimism come true. To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best. To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own. To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature I meet. To give so much time to improving myself that I have no time to criticize others. To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble. To think well of myself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words, but in great deeds. To live in the faith that the whole world is on my side, so long as I am true to the best that is in me. Christian D. Larson, The Secret

then i decided to look out for nude artists...and then i realised that these women were white so i looked for black woman, one woman whos art i found is Zanele Muholi. She really knows how to work a camera, and the woman are beautiful and sexy, well they are! And I am quite amazed by how beautiful a woman's back can be, i love mine too, it one of my fav parts of the woman's body!

Took me a while to find this one, but here it is! I love the image of hands clasped together in prayer!

This Indian artist's work has an element of mystic. I love the use of bright colour in the lesbian pieces.

i love hands and what they can do and represent. I particularly like the image of the hands calasped together and the water running through them....its kinda of a spiritual activity...atleast thats what i associate it with!

Art for the eye!

one of my intrests and escapes is art. I do envy those artists who can use their hands so well and productively. I love to randomly pull out a art book from the library and just laze as i go through the pictures, its usually such a beautiful surprise as i never know what to expect, lately i have been doing the same online, typing art gallery and going through the images, here is some of what i have found and my comments on them!

I swear i was born in ekasi in another lifetime!

Its About time!

yay, im so glad, im finally blogging. On the 25th of November 2008, 2am, I finally started blogging and i think im gona be an addict. Well im tired now, just waiting trying to pass time until breakfast then im off to bed. Got lots to do too, this week is gona be hectic, its the last before the semester ends, so there's packing, moving, admin, finding a job and moving inn that needs to be done. Not to mention lots of thinking! Although i must admit there is much i need to learn about this blogging!