African Arts & Crafts
Wood mini-djembe drum, \'Revival\'
The Sankofa Anoma symbol graces this beautiful mini-djembe by Ernestina Oppong Asante. An Adinkra symbol communicating popular wisdom, it directs Africans to the roots and strengths of their beginnings and past.
Threadwork, \'Calabash Festival\'
Women with tightly-braided hairdos clutch colorful calabashes in this enchanting work by Randy Abeka Abbam. In eastern Ghana, calabash gourds are used as drums during festivals and funerals. Abbam creates the bright image by patiently gluing cotton thread to a card stock base.
\'Mother\'s Pride\'
The pride of every African woman is to have a child, \" Emmanuel Atiamo Yeboa says. Cradled in loving arms, a baby basks in his mother\'s love. Yeboa works in oils on calico, adding cutouts of batik cloth for their gowns, framing it with tweneboa wood.
\'Gye Nyame\'
Ghana\'s famed \"Gye Nyame\" symbol emerges in this work by Emmanuel Yeboa, its rotating form meaning \"I fear none except God.\" Vertical and horizontal patches of color invade the sharp outlines, each variation exalting the beauty of batik design.
\'Gye Nyame and Sankofa\'
Traditional Adinkra symbols of Ghana inspire this captivating painting by Emmanuel Atiamo Yeboa. The upper image represents sankofa, meaning \"go back to your roots, \" a message conveyed through the form of a bird with its head tilted backwards.
Threadwork, \'Woman Weaving\'
Dressed in swirling skirts and fancy earrings, she stands and stretches out her weaving to inspect it. Colorful yarns flow through her able hands as she transforms them into fabrics.