Beads of art
"Art is difficult because it's not something you decide to do in an hour. My day is between 12 and 15 hours, and art is not something you can do in an eight-hour workday."
From the tiniest beaded lizard to the almost four-metre handcrafted giraffes, Clive Rupiya’s intricate creations are hard to miss. The artist can often be found at the Red Fox Market in Hillfox on Saturdays and Sundays from 9:00 to 14:00.
Rupiya was born in Zimbabwe and has been an artist for 30 years. He makes all kinds of animals and other creations using beads and wire. “When this started, we only did them using wire, but over time it changed and it was done with beads. It’s a combination of beads and wire, but I can do anything. As long as it’s 3D, I can do it. “
He said he learned the skill from a friend when he was still at school. “I used to help him on weekends and I just learned from there.” To master his skills, he said it all depended on how patient a person was, “… especially when it comes to art,” he added.
He explained that it can be boring to spend the day working on one figurine so he makes many of the same object and plans out the steps in the following days. “You come up with a plan first. So for instance, if you are making 10 owls you will spend a day shaping, another doing the beads, and another putting them together. If you try to do it in a day, it bores you because you will be doing one thing. It’s a process,” he explained.
The artist extended this skill to making baskets and spoons, but always incorporates beads into his creations. He shared that the smaller crafts such as the key chains are actually more time-consuming, “… because they are very small and the space to work is constricted. The smaller things become the harder ones to make. The ones that are a bit bigger give me space to work and are simpler compared to the small ones.”
Rupiya said unfortunately since the pandemic hit, there have not been many places for him to sell or exhibit his work. He does corporate orders as well as client requests, but he admitted that everything had slowed since Covid.
“It would be nice if things could go back to normal and people can start buying the products and being out again. I enjoy what I do; that’s what I am good at,” he concluded.
Contact Clive Rupiya on: 073 992 9919
