ART AS FOOD FOR THE SOUL!
Creative Gorataone Sejeso makes strides in embroidery
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “Every artist was first an amateur...” This basically implies that creatives should not be afraid to step up and refine their craft because that is how they improve, says creative artist
and embroider Gorataone Sejeso.
The 20-year-old Kanye native who was raised in Kgalagadi, is currently a student at the University of Botswana in Gaborone. She said that she always had the urge to create since she was a child.
“When I was about age 9 or so, I used to pick up a paper and pencil
and began to draw, of which was promising here and there.
If you ask my mother, she saw very early on that I had a lot that I wanted to express. I remember my mom used to say “waitse ngwanake e tlaa nna sekgantshwane!” I was the child that ran around the house in costume, singing, dancing and drawing, so I guess you could say that it was always meant for me to arrive here,” she said.
She said that all her life, she admired work of arts whenever she got the chance.
“I took pictures and captured moments that caught my eye. While I wandered around appreciating the beauty of art, a part of me still believed that I can also create,” she said.
A few months ago, she started watching videos of a social media platform TikTok and stumbled across pictures and videos of hand-embroidery art
and fell in love with it.“I felt my inner younger self getting filled with excitement. It just clicked with me.
I love working on canvas and bringing the ideas in my head to life. Ever since I started doing art, it feels more like an urge... something far more addicting than just a hobby. My gentle and laid-back approach to life is reflected in my painting style, and colour choices.
The aim of my art is to bring a touch of black elegance to your living space. Embroidery is methodical, and I love how portable it is. I love that I can incorporate any idea I have into an embroidery design, and depict anything that I want. When I embroider, I feel at ease,” she said.
Being surrounded by incredibly talented and culture-shifting creatives as she grew up was inspiring and vital to her, and ever since she started embroidering, her focus has been on creating art that gives out feminine energy and embracing African authenticity. “My work is a mode of self-expression. People often ask me if the women in my paintings are depictions of myself and I say these women are intended to represent Black women in general.
Growing up, I’ve watched Black women closest to me, and so many of them share an expression of both mental and physical tiredness. To me, art is also a way to depict Black women in a way they’re rarely portrayed, that is, as content, free, and at peace. I want to be part of a world where Black women dream, fulfill their goals, live peacefully and without limits,” she said.
Art is food for her soul and Sejeso said to be an artist is to be a creator who can make money off their craft. “Art makes you question most of the things, both the sublime and mundane.
It stirs my emotions and makes me feel alive. I started monetising my art and it does pay off.”
Sejeso said that the support from Batswana has been mind blowing.
“They keep placing orders and buying, and it keeps getting better by the day. I also participate in art shows and expeditions, the latest event I attended was being part of Grand Bay Botanical Gardens’s picnic last year in December and the support was amazing!”
Sejeso said that this year she wants to further develop her painting style and dive into mixed-media work and 3D mediums.
She envisions growing as an artist in the coming years.