WORMS YUMMY !

TSVANGIRAYI MUKWAZHI/AP

MOPANE WORMS (actually caterpillar of the emperor moth) are a delicacy all over southern Africa. They hatch after the summer rains, and then everyone runs to the bush to get their share.  Around that time of year I always know when the hatching has begun, because no one comes to
 work ! 
The poor are especially happy for this free food as it has 3 times the protein of beef.

The Mopanes I tasted had been spiced with chili and were not bad at all. The only problem I had was getting past the look of them.  In the future I plan to close my eyes first.
See more in this great article: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/zimbabwe-favorite-snack-mopane-worms-article-
1.1247669

AND NOW FOR THE WINNER OF THE DRAWING:  Lisa    http://carefreejewelrybylisa.blogspot.com/

Thank you everyone for your comments, and by the way, I am working on an Etsy site. Best wishes to all

Related articles

• Worms: A Zimbabwe snack, from tree to dinner table

WAITING for NAMIBIA

With the Holidays over I start to think about returning to Namibia. Unfortunately we have to wait for our return visas  and it could be many months yet. In the mean time I am enjoying my ceramics studio and of course my grandchildren !

Here's 2 out of 3.

stoneware candle cottage

garlic pot experiment

Here's a couple of days work on Paper Clay jewelry components.

 And some fired ones in stoneware.

GIVE AWAY & HOW WE GOT STARTED

Hibiscus brooch 

I am not the best blogger, It's like dieting, I have good intentions, but then life takes over ! So, just to see if anybody is actually out there, I am having a give away. ( Not a subscriber? become a new  subscriber and your name goes in the "hat" twice.)

To be eligible, either ask a question pertaining to the video, or tell me what you would like to read about in the future. For example: More about African life, more about the artisans, more tutorials, more about our products ? etc.

At the end of January 2013 I will draw the winner.

The link below is a video about how I got to Africa and how Work Of Our Hands got started.

Merry Christmas to all ! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSyDiiMcIbw#

SO MUCH TO DO !

I always do this.........whichever side of the equator I am on, I think that on the other side I will have more time........but it's never true!
First thing to do upon arriving in the Northern Hemisphere is of course to unpack.  Amazing that nothing was broken since we all know how luggage is handled. We only bring a few clothes. The rest is all merchandise.

Then, there's the jobs I left unfinished in Namibia, like getting these pendants attached to their necklaces.   I still have some to finish.......

Last year we bought a town house with a basement, so for the first time since moving to Africa, I can have a studio when I'm back in the USA . Had to do it on the cheap, with used equipment, but I'm happy as a pig in mud. Yea for Craig's list !

Here's my 30 year old Shimpo wheel (still working like a champ) with home made splash guard, and foam on a bucket seat. I think Shimpo is a pretty great product to be working so well at such an age !

Of course I'm twice as old and also still in good working condition. "Knock on wood ."

Some bisque I just fired.

My Paragon and Skutt kilns. The big one came with the wheel, but I was afraid I could never fill it. Plus to tell the truth, I'm a bit scared of figuring out the kiln sitter, and if it's working right. (  just when I thought I had used every type of kiln from manual to automatic, now another one to learn)

All the ceramic products are different here, so I'm preparing some color test tiles.  Amaco Velvet underglaze.......they will perk up and look much better when fired. So far I am thrilled with the feel and coverage of the product.

Had a small home show last week end. It wasn't well attended, but I think it will grow in time. Everyone who came was very positive, and better yet they bought!

There was lots of jewelry too, only I forgot to take pictures.

Now for the decision as to whether to put some products for sale on line while I'm here.  People always ask me about that and then when I do it, no one buys. It's a lot of work, and I'd rather be in the studio ! What'cha think?

FIRING OUR CERAMIC BEADS

Whenever I read a post about someone starting the craft or business of ceramic bead making, I wonder if they know what they are getting into.  I certainly didn't ! It's been about 4 years now, and the things I have learned could fill a book. So many failures and troubles. The learning curve is steep ! Still it's those days when I open the kiln to a perfect firing , well almost perfect is more common :) Those days keep me going.

I wrote a blog for Beads of Clay  about how we manage here in Africa without all the fancy tools and specialty equipment available in the USA. andsome of the special challenges we face here. http://www.blog.beadsofclay.org/2012/06/in-africa-we-make-plan.html check it out.

AFRICAN COLOR WILD AND FREE

Ahh color . I have always loved it, and thought I was pretty liberated in using it; until I went to live in Africa that is...

African wax prints

In Africa there are no color rules, no color police; every color goes with every other color.  If you like it, it goes !

There is a newer housing development in our town and everyone calls it Smarties.

 Purple, pink, orange, lime green, you name it and there is a house painted that color.

Home owners association? What's that?

 Bo-Kaap Cape Town

I recently come across this great explanation for the source of the African color palette.

(see link below)

I call the first palette our desert palette. 

We are all comfortable with this palette I think.

The African color palette derives from two sources. The first is traditional and utilizes earth pigments and natural dyes. This palette is full of ochres, browns, rusts, burgundies, blacks and the whites of raw, untreated cotton cloth and other natural fibers. This is what I call the “natural” African color set.

When synthetic dyes were introduced to Africa a new range of colors appeared. The cloth dyers had not much experience with dyes, so they used each one on its own and at full strength. The result was a set of brilliant, strong reds, rich full blues, emerald greens, and golden yellows, colors never before seen. These form the “dyed” African color set.

quilt/http://www.denacrain.com/blog/tutorials/african-quilt/ 

Now that's the wild and free palette !

Sometimes I have to caution our artisans, that Westerners are not as liberated in color use as Africans, and selling wild color combinations is often hard to do.

Myself ? 

I have to say, that how I think about color, and what colors "go together" has greatly expanded since living in Namibia, but I still have a very long ways to go before being truly FREE .

Fashion

and more fashion

Christie Brown fashion design

hand painted candles  

Even in Nature African colors can be intense

• http://theroadforks.com/photography/lilac_breasted_roller_weekly_photo

Lucia

Meet Lucia , one  of our  ceramic bead artisans.  Lucia is an orphan, yet persisted in completing her grade 12 a few years ago. Quite an accomplishment in Namibia where after grade 10 many students do not pass the exams to continue school.  Because Lucia could not pay her exam fees, she still does not have her grade 12 certificate. This has hindered her from quite a few opportunities so far, but she just learned that orphans can get a waver on the no pay, no certificate, rule.

Lucia is very smart, and I hope to see her running the ceramic bead operation in a few years time.