I'll admit that at first, African art seemed a little too strange for my liking. It wasn't typically in my color scheme and I couldn't see it fitting into the home I had created back in Vermont. So on many of my first journies to Africa I came home without any African art. If you're thinking that it is strange for an artist to pass up any chance to collect art, I agree with you now, but I haven't always.
I learned to love and collect African art when I took my two daughters with me to Africa on my latest photoshoot project there. It was a busy three week trip during which we would be making our way through six different countries. I didn't expect to find much time for shopping, but my daughters kept insisting upon it and so I frequently found myself in the most quaint markets meeting stall owners and finding more shots for my photography project than I ever imagined to.
I had given each of my daughters a set amount of spending money before we ever arrived in Africa, and they had that amount gone within the first two markets we enjoyed. I learned to love African art through the eyes of my daughters. They were intrigued and captivated by the art more than I had expected they would be. Watching them pick up new items and love their look I too began to love looking at African art. I decided that I wanted to forego my need to have everything matching in my home in order that I could collect important art work from Africa, the continent that I had grown to love.
If you come into my home today you can hardly walk through a room without seeing the imprint of Africa somewhere. That's because African art adorns almost every room that I spend time in. I have had a transformation: I went from being someone who practically ignored the beauty of African art to being someone that is enthralled with its beauty.
