15.10.14 Workshop Day with the founders

Everyone brought their item and l photographed them and the objects they brought, along with a commentary about why they were precious to them and what they were used for.  So a lot of cultural history was gained through this exercise and we all learnt a lot about each other.  It was also useful to me to form links to possible other informants in the field, such as witch doctors, elders and hunting rituals.  The workshops covered aspects of craftwork, domestic tools, inherited and symbolic spears, musical instruments, harvesting, etc.  Jacob helped out writing the forms as this was a bit of a problem with language as well as literacy.  The questions on modern art were a bit difficult, so did not pursue this with the majority of the participants – just got Emmanuel, Winnie and David to answer these as well.  This information will be produced as an illustrated booklet and forms a small study of the foundry staff here at Kyemihoko.

Started investing the small trees with David this morning and tried to impress upon Emmanuel and David about the time factors involved.  Spent the morning making runners and risers to help David with the investing the first piece.  He left it unwrapped and so the next layers of the investment may not stick?  Looks rather a big investment for a delicate piece such as this.  He used a box to act as a mould around the piece as he said the investment material would pour better into the shapes without air-bubbles as flicking it on may not work in this context – perhaps the plaster and grog material would be too heavy for the delicate structures.  He sprayed the wax with surgical spirit to degrease it.

When l went to the shower tonight it seemed like a magnet for wildlife – huge cockroach in my towel, moth on the floor following me to the bathmat – opened the door and expected Mr Roach but there was a little frog.  Using ‘Doom’ like hairspray for the many mosquitoes!!!

Adolf saw a green snake in the hills today as he was walking Drongo around the boundary.  Adolf said he was ‘Defense Secretary’ for the area.

The bells turned out very well but David’s sculpture had three holes in it, so will have to be welded, luckily in places that did not have detail.

Winnie was off today as their house flooded badly with 3 inches of water after the rain last night – as it is still the rainy season.  Emmanuel’s fingers looked horrible with spiky stitches sticking up at all angles!