It was with great anticipation that I drove down the dusty rural road into Hamburg, where for the next four days I would be facilitating a Red Shoe Workshop with the artists of the Keiskamma Trust. I knew that the workshop would be hugely beneficial for them, but I also knew that the experience of working with these skilled embroiderers was going to be exciting for me. I knew that the combination of challenge and skill was going to bring some interesting results, and as it turned out, I was definitely not to be disappointed. The group rose to the challenge and the results speak for themselves.
The focus of this particular workshop was to show participants how to create something original and unique from their personal life experience. The participants had all expressed a desire to become artists in their own right, and so throughout the workshop we discussed what it means to be an artist and what this role demands of one. I emphasised that the process is every bit as important as the product, and that if they kept that in mind their work could only get stronger.
The participants were intensely focussed and worked very hard to complete their shoes within the limited time frame. So it was with much satisfaction that at 2pm on the final day, the artists were able to sit back and admire the products of their labour and to share their stories and feelings about the experience of the workshop.
I was delighted with the results and feedback and the shoes are absolutely gorgeous, each pair being as unique as the individual who made them.
It is hoped that the lessons the artists have learned will stay with them forever and that the skills they have acquired will provide them with yet another means of earning much needed income.
It was a pleasure to work with such a talented group and I look forward to seeing them all again soon.
Sally Scott
Visit Sally Scott's website to view more photographs of the workshop: www.sallyscott.co.za
