Fourteen local sculptors of northern Limpopo have decided to collaborate in an initiative to find avenues for sustainable wood collection for their sculptures.

At the moment, they are mostly working with suitable dead indigenous wood types that they find in their immediate surrounds.  These include woods such as teak, lead wood and wild olive that has to be completely dry to avoid risk of cracks in the sculptures and functional art. These resources are, however, becoming scarcer by the day, especially when wood for cooking is also collected in the same areas.

The group of artists recently attended an artist’s workshop at Madi a Thavha Mountain Lodge just west of Makhado (Louis Trichardt) where they planned a local Soutpansberg artists’ exhibition at the lodge for the end of April 2014.

“We will let the exhibition run for a month and plan to invite other local artists like Jaco Roux and Emmie Crafford, while works of the late Jackson Hlungwane will also be exhibited,” the group said. There will also be paintings, exquisite local jewellery, ceramics and textile art. Lodge owner Ms Marcelle Bosch also sources hand-picked and quality functional art items around the mountain to exhibit. “We are truly proud to be part of an amazing group of artists in and around the Soutpansberg,” said well-known Soutpansberg artist  Shoni Mainganye, who has travelled the world and exhibited in many European and Scandinawian countries.

The group appealed to all individual or collective farmers, government departments or companies who de-bush areas which have huge indigenous or fruit trees, be it for agriculture, roads, railway lines or electrical lines, to please contact one of the representatives of the group, so that they can perhaps work out a way to save, recycle and collect fallen trees at central points. “Local wood of local farmers with local stories add wonder and an eco-friendly, cooperative flavour that warms the hearts of farmers, artists and buyers alike. We all like to preserve the treasures of the earth,” said artist Meshark Raphalalani.

The group said they found that avocado, litchi, citrus and guava trees have excellent wood for sculpting. Many intricate Chinese sculptures are made of litchi wood, whilst avocado wood has been used by the Aztecs of South America for thousands of years. Jacaranda is also first-rate sculpting wood.

Farmers around the Albasini Dam have already indicated that they would rather donate their old, redundant avocado and litchi trees for sculptures than to burn them. “Thank you, we so appreciate your goodwill! We realise that you are all working against time to get rid of the fallen trees and therefore ask that you please give us a ‘sporting chance’ by letting us know in advance if you plan to take out some indigenous or fruit trees - for whatever reason - so we can plan transport and distribution on our side. Few of us have bakkies or cars, but we would like to collaborate to make a plan,” the group said.

The group’s “exco” members consist of  Mr Meshark Raphalalani (Tshakhuma close to Levubu / 081 813 0069), Mr Avhashoni Mainganye (Thohoyandou and Phiphidi / 084 725 9613), Mr Thomas Kubayi (Mbokhota close to Elim / 072 180 2398), Mr Ezerael Tavhana (Nzhelele Valley / 072 1322181) and Mr Albert Munyai (Mutale / 076 568 9488). Ms Elthea Schlesinger can also be contacted at 071 191 4467.