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VISIT TRAVELLER PHOTO GALLERY
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Giant Travellers / Nokuthula Phewa | ||||||||||||||||||
 Nokuthula was given the challenge of creating a family of Giant Travellers for the exhibition. Giant Traveller legs were crafted out of an old donated hosepipe and the first three Giant Travellers, which we named Fezeka, Buselaphi and Ntombi, created a delightful fuss. Everyone laughed as we carried them around the centre as if they were our babies and it was made clear to the inquiring customers that they were NOT FOR SALE. "BEADWORK IS MY FAMILY" - This is Nokutula's story... Nokuthula was born in Luganda in Kwa Dengezi in 1970. She grew up without parents; her mother was an alcoholic and left many children to care for themselves. One of her saddest recollections is the death of her twin sister who passed away when they were young. She never knew who her father was and has taken on her mother's surname. Nokuthula was taken in by a kind neighbour. The neighbour, Ntombi Mbambo, was a beader and Nokuthula used to sit and watch her working. When Nokuthula was 12 years old she asked Ntombi to teach her how to bead and she started beading because it gave her money to go to school, and it also filled a need left by the absence of her family. 
She married and moved to Embo; however, things were very difficult in the marriage as her husband drank heavily and became abusive. She started beading again when she met Drew, a nurse from the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust, who asked her if she would like to join a beading group. This was the first pioneer beading group at the Centre and Nokuthula was one of nine women involved, many of whom are still with us today. The project has helped her a lot because this year she has managed to build her own big two roomed house which is full of furniture and beautiful things she thought she would never possess. She supports her three children and her husband who is unemployed and remains abusive. Nokuthula loves doing beadwork because she has never been employed in her life. She has made a living from beadwork and she said that for her, beadwork has been like a mother and a father. She often finds beading difficult because she suffers terribly from Arthritis which affects her hands. Nokuthula continues to inspire us as she has triumphed over difficult circumstances and has developed into a true artist. She creates and designs new pieces of Jewellery each week and has one of the most extraordinary uses of colour. Her fame has spread and she laughs as she tells us that she has been approached by what we call "poachers" who want to steal her brilliance. Thankfully she tells us she won't work for anyone else. Buy Travellers here |
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