Phatshwane’s childhood playtime lands him into sculpture
It is said that playtime is very vital for every child’s growth and mental development. For instance, that is the time when a child explores different things around him or her. Growing up, children tend to play with different things from toys to wires, wood and even clay soil. As a result, this helped many children to identify their talents, passions and gave them the zest to pursue their dreams and make a career out of what they love most.
Khumoyame Phatshwane is one of the youngsters who was fortunate enough to turn his passion into a career. In an interview with Arts & Culture, the 27-year-old said he uses wires and cement to craft his masterpieces. He explained that growing up, he used to play with wire cars and moulded using soil. He said he made a horse head whilst doing Standard Four.
“As for using cement to make my sculptures, I was advised by someone who was in prison years ago. I was also inspired to make wire sculptures by my Zimbabwean friend, Arthur. I started with cement in 2019 and later in 2020 I started using wires after being taught by Arthur who is also a wire sculptor. Even though I like using both materials, wire sculptures are my favourite pieces,” he said. Most of Phatshwane’s artifacts are themed ‘love.’ His beautifully made wire sculptures include that of a horse head, Christmas tree, peacock, many different sculptures of women showcasing different moods just to mention but a few. Most of those pieces are beautifully made and breath taking. Most of his cement sculptures are shapes of animals. They include dogs, ducks, flower pots, leopards, monkeys, zebras, giraffe, among others. He also pointed out that the public received his work with open arms. He sells his products in Francistown along Marimavu road. However, he stated that his biggest challenge was exposure because his workshop is far from the local market. “However, things are now better, all thanks to social media. I used social media to advertise my products. This has given me an opportunity to sell my sculptures to a broader market and that has increased my sales. I have not yet exhibited my work and hope to do so in the future. My dream is to have a big company that will help me feed my family as well as to create employment for the youth in my community,” he ended.