Medium sized hand beaded African Elephant. Using wire and glass beads, this elephant has been created by a talented artisan from South Africa. This beautiful hand beaded animal celebrates the diversity of Africa's wildlife and ingenuity of its people. Each elephant is hand made and unique and slight variations may occur to the one in the photograph.
It is believed that this art form originates from the hills of Maputoland in Zululand, a rural area of Northern KwaZulu-Natal, located in the Northeast corner of South Africa. Today wire art is a thriving and legitimate art form unique to South Africa. Using wire, tin, beads and metal as their medium, these talented artists are able to shape and create anything from tiny beaded items to giant wire sculptures, all imbued with the spirit of Africa and her people. Streetwires is a community upliftment project where they design, make and market the very best contemporary African wire and bead craft art, blending contemporary design with traditional craft skills to the benefit of everyone involved. Started in 2000 with two artists and two marketing coordinators, Streetwires currently provides the skills training and support necessary to enable over 120 formerly unemployed men and women to channel their natural creative energies into this vibrant art form.
