{ mississippi made }
Yolande van Heerden: A Place for Everyone
F
BY SUSAN MARQUEZ
ork on the left. Knife and spoon on the right. It is the classic art of setting a proper table, and it is a skill that must be learned. Yolande van Heerden of Greenwood says she has vivid memories of family meals in her native South Africa. “I had to set the table every night as a child,” she recalls. “I remember my mother had black and red disks made of sisal, and she never upgraded from that. We used cloth napkins at each meal because we were too poor to buy paper napkins. Each meal used a knife, spoon, fork, butter knife and sometimes a fish fork or dessert spoon.” As an adult, Yolande has spent many years teaching art to pre-school children. “I’m very well versed with the Montessori style of teaching.” In August 2021, Yolande had just finished her summer art camps for children, and with no classes planned for the next month, she took a personal holiday. “I had a trip planned to Los Angeles but decided I didn’t want to fly due to Covid concerns. I canceled the trip and instead hunkered down and worked on art for me.” She began thinking about workshops she might be able to do in the future for both children and adults. Thinking about
34 • February/March 2022
how the pandemic changed the way people socialized with each other, Yolande realized that what we do now is gather around the table and eat. “I started playing with the idea of placemats,” she says. As a fabric artist, Yolande has a plethora of fabrics from all over the world. “I always take an empty suitcase with me when I visit South Africa.” She started playing with design and shapes and made ten placemats. “I put them up on Facebook at 1:30 in the morning. I was really excited about them. I was filled with the
