Beaded Ubuhle Beauty

 

Beads! These wall hangings are entirely tiny glass beads!

Welcoming us as if to South Africa, gentle, lilting rhythms of Bholoja’s “Mbombela” set a quiet mood in the Paine mansion’s main gallery. Awestruck by this immense wall hanging, I wandered wide-eyed to it without even reading the background placard. I felt a mixture of sorrow for Christ on the cross and curiosity about related scenes such as the Garden of Gethsemane and the resurrection-symbolizing rainbow just behind the cross. This artwork’s sheer size was symbolic of the grandeur and import of the inspiring event. That it drew me irresistibly, viscerally, said as much.

 

My appreciation grew when I did go back and read the placards explaining this art form. “Beadwork and the Art of Independence” is a traveling exhibit of the intricate designs of Ubuhle women, who sew shimmering glass beads on black cloth. Fulfilling the founders’ vision for traditional beading skills to provide financial independence, these rural women live and work together just north of Durban. A single panel can take ten months to complete. Ubuhle means “beauty” in the Zulu and Xhosa languages.

 

Another panel especially captivated me. Here is a photo of part of Zandile Ntobela’s “Cherry Tree” beaded design.

 

 

Just as we enjoyed the vision of Nathan and Jessie Paine to create beautiful gardens, we enjoyed incredible woodworking and design elements inside their home. During our visit, the Paine Art Center in Oshkosh showcased glass beadwork of South African Ubuhle women, whose art was also the lovely result of two people’s vision.

For more info: https://www.thepaine.org/events/ubuhle-women-beadwork-and-the-art-of-independence/