The recent Peep Show Exhibition at the Ann Bryant Art Gallery included stunning pieces created by Lovedale FET College fine art students as part of their practical work.
The students were presented with the opportunity to create ceramic and mandala pieces for the exhibition.
They were guided by their lecturers, Natasha Bezuidenhout, who teaches painting, and Nosikhumbuzo Jali, who facilitates the ceramics programme.
Unathi Mbatyi, Owam Tunyiswa, Thabisa Mabona and Siphosethu Nombayeka were among the students whose art was on display and for sale at the exhibition.
Mbatyi, who created a beautiful acrylic on canvas mandala piece, said it took a month to complete as she needed time to perfect the intricate details.
“It takes a while because you have to choose first the designs that you will draw inspiration from, then you paint them onto the canvas.
“Then you spend the rest of the time focusing on the details and only after that do you start working on the background,” said Mbatyi.
Tunyiswa said he used elements of his daily life to draw inspiration from to create his interesting mandala piece.
“I used the shape of the Doritos chip to create some of the art.
“I have also incorporated the light and dark blue colours in the shape of a drop to represent rain drops.
“The colours are very important,” explained Tunyiswa.
Mabona, who created a stunning set of clay pieces called Echoing Sounds, said she had been inspired by other well-known artists.
“We had to find artists around us and have their work be visible through our artwork. I was inspired by Litha Ncukazi,” said Mabona.
Nombayeka, who created a gorgeous sunflower piece, said being part of the exhibition was only the beginning for him in his fine art career.
“It took about two weeks to finish because it had to go through many stages of creating the piece and waiting for it to dry, the painting and the glossing,” said Nombayeka.
Bezuidenhout said the exhibition was a great opportunity for the students to showcase their work and incredible talent.
“Our aim was to align the projects with the outline of the exhibition.
“We used the syllabus to guide the students through the creation process of their submissions.
“They were able to practise their very precise paintings on the ceramics and perfect their hand-eye coordination with the mandala,” Bezuidenhout explained.
The students said they all hoped to pursue careers in fine art once they have completed their studies.
Some have already secured in-service training opportunities.
