The Story Vases by Front Design with the crafts women of KwaZulu-Natal and the Siyazama Project

Photos: Front Design with the Siyazama Project There are many ways stories can be told, but few are more beautiful than the way the crafts women of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa are doing it. Five women spoke about their life, love, hopes and fears. Their stories included such topics as the effect of AIDS in their community, and poverty. The vases create a narrative and a unique insight into life in that part of South Africa. Extracts of the stories were recorded by threading beads on to wires which were formed into text. The beads were then put into vase-shaped moulds into which glass was blown. Front created the designs in collaboration with a collective of crafts women working with the Siyazama Project. The intention was to increase the market for items made by the collective.