Shelley-Anne Graham

Future of Dreams

CHAPTER TWO

CHANGE

MAKERS

definition Changemakers have one mission in common - to change the world for the better. Whether it's for people, society or the planet, changemakers are driven by positivity, optimism and passion for life. They want to inspire others to make a change too and use their character traits in their own stories of change and progress. Here we share some of those stories.

Future of dreams with Shelley-Anne Graham

words by Shelley-Anne Graham

Inever bought into the follow your dreams paradigm. It seemed unrealistic, idealistic and out of touch with reality. So I didn’t. I didn’t follow my heart until one day my life was stripped of all certainty and at that crossroad, I took the path contrary to all reason and sensible advice.

My name is Shelley-Anne and this is my story.

In no particular order I am, mother of two phenomenal boys, collector (of things I don’t need) and full-time artist working from my studio in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa. I always paint women. I have yet to uncover the reason for my fascination with the female form, but she really has been, and always will be, my muse eternal. I create mixed media artworks of delicate feminine beauty. The images are a fusion of subtle emotion, symbolic pattern and fashion. My technique, a mix of digital and traditional approaches. I use oils, acrylic, collage and whatever else beckons me in the moment.

A beautiful word in Xhosa is “Ubuntu”. It means “I am because we are”. It’s a whole heap more than collaboration, it’s about overcoming together. In the spirit of “Ubuntu” I have started adding embroidery and beadwork to my art. This I entrust to other crafters as a humble means of supporting the story and lives of local people. We are not in this alone. It takes a village to conquer, no?

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

My story began in 1969 in Cape Town. I was born amidst one of the worst earthquakes to hit South Africa. New mothers grabbing their hysterical babies and screeching out hospital doors in fear of their lives. Shaky start, you might say.

As a shy little girl growing up I was constantly doodling and drawing. School was repetitive in that teachers scolded me, “beautiful illustrations Shelley, what about the text”. Hence going to art school and studying fine art was a no-brainer. Four years of happiness, dedicated learning and carefree living followed. I also happened to meet my photographer husband on the beach during one of those breezy moments.

Fast forward two decades and a continent change. Add my gorgeous Adrian, two little boys, plus a career path that included graphic design and lecturing art. Such was my life in the United Kingdom. Then came one fine day when the big blue skies of Africa beckoned just a little too strongly. Plans were made, containers were packed, flights were bought and in 2011 the Graham family started a new adventure on home soil in Port Elizabeth. This should have been the happy-ever-after part. You know, where Adrian and I built our creative empire and grew old graciously together. Devastatingly enough, this chapter was to hold my darkest hour.

At home, on the evening of 20th Oct 2016, I experienced what every wife and mother dreads. My husband of 18 years died. Just like that. I had no warning. The four of us were at home alone. One minute I was married and the next, I was “that thing” called a widow. The chaos and agony, indescribable. The blackness of life without Adrian encompassed me like hell itself. My 8 and 10-yearold boys instantly fatherless. Well, no earthly father anyway. I now walk this road as a mother and an artist, hoping that the grief, pain and regrets direct me to another side of myself, an altered state, one where I walk in time with God.

My husband is forever free, a being of light and love, but I am on the other side of eternity. What do I do with the here and now? Seeing death up close makes life on Earth seem awfully fragile and short. However, every day is beautiful in its purpose. The goal is to make each one count. Where I was always too nervous to take up a paintbrush full-time, I’ve done that now. I am following the longings of my heart.

MY INSPIRATION

Well, from my subject matter, you might guess that my main inspiration comes from women. I find incredible beauty and strength in them. Mind you, it is not necessarily “normal” standards of perceived beauty that sparks something. My late husband used to know exactly what inspires me and would always point those girls out. Really, really special, don’t you think? On a side note, I find it rather ironic that ever since I was a little girl, I have drawn female figures by themselves, and now I am that “lone female” (insert sad emoji). Well, let’s rephrase that one, lone parent with two teenage sons, that’s the hard part. Moving swiftly on. Other things that inspire me are nature, fashion and pattern. Nature for its endless supply of innate pattern, and fashion for the glamour it offers. Although it has to be said, the glamour does not transpose to my life. In fact, going clothes shopping is a chore I try to avoid at all costs. I prefer happily taking friends cast out clothes. Supporter of slow fashion in every sense. Lastly, the pattern itself, I am totally obsessed. So much so, that it was a close call between studying textile design or fine art. The only reason art won in the end, was because I theorised I could teach myself surface pattern over time and not the other way around.

HOW I APPROACH COMMISSION WORK

A commission involves firstly a good fit between the client and me. If I can’t relate to the subject matter or what is being asked of me, I don’t take it on. I have learnt this through trial and error. Mostly error. My passion is people, their lives and their hopes. However, a standard portrait is not what I propose. What I really want to capture is who a person is. “That thing” that makes them unique. I like to think of this as person’s wings. Finding those wings is a journey, probably a lifelong one for most of us, so in reality, I capture but a moment in time. This “capture process” could be done quite decoratively, not necessarily have to be realistic representations either. They could be substituted with a mandala or symbolic pattern, etc. Alternatively, a simple monotone painting where the emotion in the face tells its own tale is also a possibility. The process varies and is very personal.

Paradise lost

I work with acrylics, collage and oils on either paper or canvas. My planning process involves sketches as well as computer work. The final composition is done in Photoshop and presented to the client so that they have a fairly good idea of the end product. This eliminates any “happy surprises” come the completion of the commission. My hope, as an artist, is that the final painting is an intimate (if not esoteric) post-it note of hope. One that offers a moment’s diversion from life and a reminder of the uniqueness of each of our journey to find our wings.

WHAT IS UBUNTU?

“Ubuntu” is one of those amazing words in Xhosa that cannot be replicated in English. It means “I am because we are”. We in South Africa were privileged, for a brief moment, to have been led by one of the greatest leaders ever, Nelson Mandela. Mandela lived out the Ubuntu legacy. He used the power given to him to change the course of a nation. Imagine if we lived in a society where the concept of Ubuntu was standard. It doesn’t come naturally to Western Society and we can’t all be president of a country but we can apply the concept to our lives, however big or small that works out to be. Hence, my idea of adding embroidery and beading to my art, and handing that over to other crafters to carry through. It is literally in the beta phase, but if I don’t set it in motion on a micro scale now, it will never happen.

Sadly my embroiderer died last year of Covid. She was young, far too young to die. To replace her I have just reached out to an amazing NGO called Keiskamma Trust. They are also in my region, the Eastern Cape, the poorest province in SA. In fact, the little town of Hamburg and its surroundings has an unemployment rate of 90%.

The trust was started by a doctor and artist Carol Hofmeyr with a vision to restore dignity to those with few resources by providing training and work. The Art Project, where embroidery skills are taught, is only a portion of the project and vision. So much good is happening there.

My beader has another story to tell. He lives in Kwazulu-Natal, that’s a 1000km away, hence the postal system is our friend. His name is James Katiyo. I met him at a holiday market 4 years ago and have kept in contact ever since, patiently waiting for the day I could set this process in motion. James is Zimbabwean and much the same age as me. He came over the border, to start a new life and escape the extreme poverty in Zim. Beading offered an opportunity for self-employment but ironically, as it would mean a loss of income to other crafters, no one would teach him the skill (not a very Ubuntu start there). So James merely taught himself. He now makes the most extraordinary works of beaded art. His hope is to export his craft and in turn, my hope is that this chance encounter with me will be the reason his fortune changes from eking out an existence to a flourishing life.

FUTURE PLANS

Should I sound organised and in control or should I be truthful? Ag, I’ll go for the no-holds-barred option. Step 1. I have loads of unfinished paintings that I need to complete. Ones that haven’t cut the grade. I suspect they might be quite acceptable, just not in my mind. So, step one. Get over myself. Step 2. Finish the commissions that have come my way. Step 3. I have so many ideas in my head that they completely overwhelm me. Each day I have a serious chat to myself, “Concentrate Shelley-Anne, focus is key. Eat this elephant one day at a time.” So my plans are mighty, but the minutes in the day, few.

After that ramble, I would like to say that my mission is to make the most extraordinary pieces of art that include beading and embroidery. I really feel that these crafts could be elevated to an art form. After all, there does seem to be a rather perplexing difference between the prices art commands and that of craft. Possibly determined by whether you sell on the side of the road or exhibit in a gallery. Highly contentious subject matter but so many more would benefit if the price gap wasn’t so large. If you lived in my country, and even more specifically my region, and saw the political corruption, poverty and desperate state of affairs, I promise you, you would also want to do whatever you could to help. And by help, I do not mean hand-outs. I mean provide a platform for talented, hardworking souls to earn a decent living, to prosper and pass on generational craftsmanship that will otherwise be lost forever.

I want to be that person. The one that makes hope, not just visible, but possible. FOR ME. FOR YOU. AND EVERYONE IN BETWEEN. E

Website: shelley-anne.com