I begun a 2 year course in Graphic Art around 1988 without being fully aware of its function - how crazy is that?  But crazier than that was from a young age I imagined a life immersed in animal medicine, travelling from farm to farm obviously a supreme equine specialist having graduated with honours from Onderstepoort’s Faculty of Veterinary Science, Pretoria in neighbouring country South Africa, the only veterinary college in Southern Africa. For all that early delusion which makes me smile and then laugh, one thing didn’t shift from the child pipe-dream and that was my absolute love of nature and animals. Losing myself in their worlds they've remained pretty much my only subjects and now I finally get to settle with that which stole my heart as a child - the horse with a bird making it’s first appearance       oh, and a real life story.

 

So how did I end up studying Graphic Art in Harare, Zimbabwe? Well, at the critical moment when dreams have been dashed and decisions have to be made an educational psychologist suggested after testing that I should pursue a career in ‘interior design' or 'art’.  At secondary school I'd given up art as soon as I could in order to chase down those necessary more meaningful academic subjects for intelligent people destined for careers in medicine.  I wasn’t quite sure what ‘interior design’ was either apart from co-ordinating lovely objects around one’s home; graphic art was a mystery but had the word ‘art’ attached and was pretty much the only art related career option I could line up for, I didn’t know what it was but….well….why not, there was nothing to lose, I felt I’d lost everything already.

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All that time ago, that which I learned in those mostly hot classrooms became invaluable, not then but now.  The work here on this web page is all that I learned & heard about in a place I didn't particularly shine but I see it now & so wish I could go back and do it all over again.'

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A packaging project came up towards the end of our second year and connected me to the 3rd Dimension, birthing a dream which did come true driven by commitment and desire.  Untutored although kindly and curiously looked in on I started a 3rd year alone in a spare classroom - my materials, a lump of clay, a spray bottle filled with water, a few wooden tools and a roll of clingfilm to stop the clay drying out ~ this is what happened:

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