By Harold Ayodo
You have heard the tongue twister about one who sells seashells at the seashore, but not about two young men in Kisumu who are turning eggshells into art form.
Mr Willis Otieno ruffles through garbage searching for eggshells, which he uses to make artistic portraits.
He has hired youths to rummage through garbage near eateries collecting shells. He pays them Sh20 per bucket.
Vendors of mayai boilo (boiled eggs) at the lakeside town also make extra coins by collecting their waste and selling to Otieno.
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"People thought I was mad when I started collecting the shells last September," Otieno says.
Otieno, 32, and his colleague Mr David Marenya, 40, created a large portrait of US President Barack Obama using egg waste and people started taking note of their unique work.
Some of the crushed eggshells the artists use. |
Commissioned youths
The artists are today making a living selling portraits made from eggshells.
"We have commissioned youths at Kibuye Market to collect the waste daily," Otieno says.
The artists say they will start looking for egg waste even outside Kisumu as demand grows.
They crush the shells and use wood glue to stick patterns on black cloth. They then draw sketches of portraits on the cloth to give an outline.
One of their outstanding creations on high demand are portraits of Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
"Many people are asking for them and we can’t meet the demand," says Otieno.
They display their works at the Art House in Mosque Estate, Kisumu.
It takes about six hours to complete a portrait.
"I came up with the idea last year before Marenya joined me," Otieno says.
Art House founder Eunice Ogot says the portraits sell like hot cakes.
"People adore the works due to the creativity of the artists," Ms Ogot says.
Mr Willis Otieno displays some of the portraits they have made out of eggshells. [PHOTOS: JAMES KEYI / STANDARD] |
Local and foreign tourists scramble for the portraits that sell at between Sh500 and Sh5,000, depending on size and type.
"We have sold more than 300 portraits since late last year and our fear is that we may run out of raw materials (shells)," Marenya says.
Marenya is currently working on a portrait of the family of President Obama clad in Luo traditional regalia.
"We want to maintain our roots and culture using art. Our aim is to identify with our traditions even as we target the overseas markets,’ Marenya says.
Boiled eggs
The artists are happy hawkers sell boiled eggs in Kisumu, but concur that they would be excited if residents ate more of the delicacy.
Marenya says: "I sit at kiosks in Kibuye market on several occasions waiting for clients to have breakfast and then I collect the shells."
Otieno, who attended Burumba Primary School in Busia, developed an interest in drawing in nursery school.
"I perfected my art at Got Agulu Secondary School in Nyanza where I drew portraits of my classmates,’ Otieno says.
He started earning pocket money from art in Form Two by making runner stamps and drawing portraits of musicians for sale.
Famous musicians
"I was an expert in drawing Kanda Bongoman and the late Reggae stalwarts Bob Marley and Peter Tosh," Otieno recalls.
Marenya started doing artwork by accident two years ago during post-election violence in Mombasa.
"I had a friend who kept his artwork in my house and I resolved to start drawing at home during the skirmishes," Marenya says.
Otieno also draws decors for schools and colleges drama and music festivals.
Most schools from Nyanza that commissioned his services won the best costume and dÈcor category in the national drama and music festivals.
"I perfected my talent after I joined Mwangaza College of Arts in Kisumu in 1997 and graduated with a Diploma three years later," he says.
People took note of him after he drew a portrait of Raila in 2003.
Liberal Democratic Party officials in Kisumu took the portrait and promised to pay him Sh10,000 after handing it to Raila, but he is yet to receive the money.
Otieno, who trains other artists, wants the Government to help them market their work.
"It is difficult to live as an artist in Kenya, especially in areas where people do not appreciate intellectual property," Otieno says.
