Miss Glamourbliss painted by Mandy Brockbank

Thanks to Mandy Brockbank for this amazing Miss Glamourbliss face portrait. I feel blessed and honored that you found my face appealing enough to paint and highlight all my African features. I take this as a tribute to my African heritage, to love my skin and celebrate myself as a woman of class and elegance.

Miss Glamourbliss is on sale, for more info do contact Mandy Brockbank on (+27) 83 991 3936 or email: art@mandybrockbank.co.za

The Journey of Stacey Alexander (Miss SA)

Meeting Stacey Alexander for the first time was exciting and inspiring for me. A young lady full of life, goal driven, hard worker, always determine to win, never afraid to take risk and by no doubt she is the sweetest loving person.

Stacey always knew she wanted to be a fashion designer and her love for fashion started when she was still in school. After completing her high school, she took two years gab to travel to the United State (USA) and worked as a Girl Scout counselor, lifeguard, windsurfing instructor for summer camp.

Coming back to South Africa she worked at various Fashion clothing shops in Cape Town where she gain an understanding and knowledge of the fashion industry. She then enrolled to study Fashion at Cape Town College of Fashion Design where she completed her three years International Diploma.

During her second and third year of her studies, she qualified to showcase at Cape Town Fashion Week for the New Generation Show. Her talent was certainly recognize when she won The Annual SA Foschini Nokia Design Award competition where she had to design and produce a range and make a dress for Miss South Africa 2008 – Tatum Keshwar.

With all these achievements, Africa Fashion International also invited her to showcase her range at the Audi Johannesburg Fashion Week 2010.

Winning The Annual Foschini Nokia Design Award, Foschini offered her a job as a trainee Buyer but after two years of her service, she decided to pursue with her own label Miss SA (Stacey Alexander).

Miss SA designs are chic, exotic, with a touch of class, very easy to wear to any event. The detailed exotic prints, which emphasize elegance and boldness, highlight Miss SA‘s collection. She also adds on, nude mesh in her collection to spice things a little bit and gives it a twist. 

Currently Stacey is back on her drawing board working on her 2013 Spring/Summer Collection. Her dream is to showcase in Europe and supply her collection to the Fashion House stores worldwide.

For more information on Stacey’s work please do contact her via email: Stacey.tweaked@hotmail.com 

From Zululand with Love

There is always something magical about Zululand, the green land, the lakes with hippos deep in, the warm weather, friendly people, the food, and lastly the artist Miss Mandy Brockbank.

I met Mandy in 2011 one-summer holiday in Sodwana Bay in her small shop where she creates beautiful crafts and paintings. I fell in love with her work and off course with her charismatic smile and her vibrant energy. I remember looking up the roof of her small shop, there was this big painting that could fit a billboard and this painting was kinder of 2010 world cup celebration, I must admit I wanted to steal it but I thought about the weight and how far I could get away with it so I let it go.

Moving around the small shop, I realized that she was telling stories about Zululand, she paint this beautiful land and really emphasis the true African culture. Believe me if you honestly want to own true African art do yourself a favor and visit Mandy’s world. There is nothing more appealing and exciting when an artist give you the feel of the world that is unknown to you, that feeling of learning something new through the brush and colorful paints, it just an overwhelming feeling.

I admire Miss Brockbank for many reasons, her wisdom, her vision towards the African art and story telling, her creativity and so forth, the list is endless. Mandy is currently working to establish a project called Dev’ocean Art Project, this project is to educate women and children in art, (environment and recycling), this project will be based in Zululand and as far I could tell, it worth to invest in it as it enrich the underprivileged children and youth from the rural areas.

Mandy Brockbank has been involved in several exhibition and project, Hillcrest Group Exhibition 2010; Red Alert 2011 Hluhluwe; Intellectual Property 2012 Durban KZNSA and Thupelo Workshop Cape Town 2012.

If you want to learn more about Mandy Brockbank’s work and her current project please drop her an email: art@mandybrockbank.co.za or join her on facebook: Mandy Brockbank.

Human Landscape Exhibition By Maria Kley pictures

Human Landscape Exhibition By Maria Kley

Last week Thursday (25 April 2013) I got to attend a solo exhibition (Human Landscape) by the beautiful humble Maria Kley at Greatmore Studios, Cape Town, South Africa, it was one of those exhibition that blew my mind away, I mean the creativity, the use of raw materials, the display etc, it was impeccable.

 I had few objects that I wanted to take home, not for display though more like show casing them to other artist who share the same sentiment of use of recycling materials.

One piece that caught my eyes and made me think of myself how often I threw away dust cloth when they look used up and are not in good condition. Suddenly  I was in this room admiring the cloth that I hate so much when it contain stains, when it originally color is blur and washed up,  the same cloth was being put in a white frame that is line up with a yellow mustard background. I was flabbergasted; this cloth was some piece of art that could sell for a fortune.

That was just the beginning and trust me my mouth was wide open this time around that any flying insect could travel in and out without me realizing it. This piece from far looked like a flower but as you get closer you realize it just a foam cut and shaped kinder looked like flower image, and for the love of me I said it loud ‘oh great, it just a bloody foam!’ Like really why I never thought of that, or is it maybe my creativity is far to reach #Team Maria Kley bar level, well I do not know maybe I need to do some soul searching.....I think.

As I moved around the room, taking pictures observing every piece, talking to myself and finally I came to a stand still not because I was tired or done, it was this huge, magnificent art piece hanging above me that I can’t even explain and it caught my eyes that I could not move or blink, I was just staring. Part of me was trying to figure out how it have been put together, the rocks inside the wood that stood still, in actually fact I’m still confuse how it was done, maybe I should ask Maria, it always important to understand such creativity.

At last, I had to chat with the woman herself and believe me she is beyond the word beautiful. She was just amazing, her calmness, her smile, her love was just breath taking for me, and if I could press rewind and speak to her again I will do it trillion times, it was an honor to meet Miss Maria Kley. To learn more about her work please do visit www.mariakley.com or follow her on twitter @mariakley.

Let us talk ART

My love for art started at the very young age, I grew up with it, and I have admired the creative mind and the hand. My grandfather was one of the art lovers who taught me the perfectionist of art and using hands to connect with fabrics, paintings and sculptures, he believed that the eye can’t see but the hand can make the eye see, well don’t ask me how that seem so possible but I as I grew up I realized it is true.

With his hands he created magnificent ornaments, he detailed them in such a way that it will inspire you, he knew how to capture an eye and trust me you would not forget if you see him at work with his hands, they moved so magically that you will fall in love with whatever he was creating.

So can you imagine how much i wanted to have his talent, how much I wanted to be like him when he speaks about art, he did it very well that when I’m alone I will sit at night and try to speak with his tone addressing my dolls. He knew the world of art like the palm of his hands, he could tell you historical stories about where art begin.  I share that love with my grandfather, we spoke the same language in silence, and I knew that one day I will touch and see the beauty of art and I would celebrate his legacy.

My late grandfather, Paul Bheki Ndlovu, inspires Glamourbliss and my vision is to uplift the world of art that we as the society have neglected and have forgotten about, I want to celebrate talents, creativity, and beauty of art. I would like to keep the spirit of Noria Muela Mabasa; Esther Mahlangu; Louis Maqhubela; Zwelethu Mthethwa; Maurice van Essche; Ashs Zero and Willie Bester alive and not forget the role they have played in the history of art all over the world.

May you continue to inspired and motivate each other by telling stories in a form of Art.