Posted on July 29, 2009 - by Larry

Batiks

Batiks
As in 2007 the resident artist, Joshua Pison Masaba taught a little over half the group how to make the traditional Batik art pieces. I will let one of them describe some of the process, but it involves wax, ink, fabric, irons, etc. Here is Joshua’s bio:

Joshua Pison Masaba
Joshua Pison Masaba was raised in a small village in the foothills of Mount Elgon in Eastern Uganda. He began creating art at the age of eight when he was enrolled in Primary Three. Pison used to draw with a piece of charcoal on his father’s hut as a child, often taking punishment from his father for doing so. His pictures depict typical scenes from African life, especially of people working, laboring and celebrating together. His art represents peace and unity, with people acting together for support and protection. Pison is a self-trained artist who draws his ideas from the world around him, supplementing them with with particular training in contemporary African art and design techniques. He has been creating art for 22 years. Pison is particularly trained in utilizing recycled paper in his art, along with employing local materials to construct his creations. The land and the people-scapes he produces are influenced by his faith and his desire to demonstrate the beauty of African life through art. Currently, Pison works with local widows and idle youth, especially girl-children, to create art as a form of income generation in order to fight crippling poverty and a future lifetime relegated to begging. He also formally acted as vice chairman of arts and crafts for the Foundation for the Development of Needy Communities (FDNC), located in Mbale, Uganda. He constructs his art on the ground of the FDNC Vocational Training School in Natondome Village while mentoring youth attending the school in his artistic techniques.