Sandton housewife successfully pursues her artistic passion
After spending the majority of her life devoting all of her time to her husband and two children, Cahi decided to do something for herself and explore her passion for art.
Everything changed in just over three years for Sandton housewife turned artist Alida Cahi.
After spending the majority of her life devoting all of her time to her husband and two children, Cahi decided to do something for herself and explore her passion for art. Where has this gotten her? The artist has now gained a loyal following, completed dozens of commissions and had her art showcased at an exhibition in Atholl last year.
“It gave me the confidence to continue doing what I am doing, art is something that I love dearly,” she said.
Even though she did not study art after school, Cahi has always been a lover of art, working with renowned mentor and friend Beatrice Katz who was an art curator at the Johannesburg Art Gallery for three years. Katz encouraged Cahi, along with her family, to pursue her passion for art.
“I have always been an artist but in the last five years I have had a lot more free time to pursue my passion as both my children are grown up and successful,” added Cahi. She began by decorating her husband’s dentistry practice.
More recently during the lockdown, Cahi added a new collection to her belt which consisted of illustrating and painting on newspapers. This idea came about when she essentially ran out of canvases to paint on and was unable to obtain any due to the restrictions.
“All of the shops were essentially closed at this point so I began buying the London Times newspaper. I would read the paper, get inspiration from the article and paint over the actual article.”
She now regularly supplies a small gallery in Cape Town with her newspaper art. “It has given me a different direction which I am enjoying. It [the art] is also something that people can easily obtain, it is not highly expensive.”
Cahi is currently working to launch a small gallery in the next year or two that will allow her the space to showcase her art on a long-term basis. “Over the last three years of painting, more and more people are wanting to see my art and see what I can do, so this would be a perfect step in my art journey.”
As she continues to explore her passion, she would like to encourage many others to explore theirs. “You need to make the time for your passion, keep at it. If it makes you feel good you enjoy it, you just never know where you might end up.”
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