Notes

Misi Mvelase is one of the master weavers of the Threads of Africa Project, a collaboration with the Mdukatshani Development Trust, based in the Thukela Valley of KwaZulu Natal. She became a crafter as a young person, experimenting with bead and wire weaving under the guidance of her mother, who was a craft teacher. She has developed a particular expertise, combining metals of different densities in a single item while holding the tensions between the slower and faster work-hardening of the wires in perfectly balanced stitches. Misi's work was exhibited on the Révélations International Fine Craft and Creation Biennal in Paris in 2019.

Each Threads of Africa bowl has its own unique pattern. Weavers hand-coil fine wire around a clay pot, which is used as a mould and broken out carefully once the form is complete. The patterns are developed from age-old weaving techniques used in the region, inspired by the rich landscape of KwaZulu Natal.