Artist earns big from rare talent in sentimental items

By PASCAL MWANDAMBO

The mid-aged man has been earning a living from the love of  making ornaments and artistic items from gemstones

Cleophas Chengo is a budding artist with unique talent. His style of using gemstones to design works of art with great sentimental value has put him in a class of his own.

The humble and unassuming artist says he believes in experimenting with unique and rare forms of art.

 “Talents are vary since we cannot produce the same works of art.  It’s good to come up with creative pieces that can distinguish one from the others” says the 43 year Chengo.

Chengo says it takes him about four days to design a walking stick beautifully adorned with the gemstone pieces.

 “I regularly visit the mining sites in Kasigau, where I buy the gemstone sand which I then sift out carefully to separate the gemstone chips from soil” says Chengo.

The gemstone chips are mainly those of tourmaline, red and green garnets. The woodwork is another feat altogether. Chengo carves the sticks using the rare local hardwood Mwingo, one of the expensive woods in the area.

After carving out the wood to the desired shape, the artist carefully and meticulously sticks the gemstones pieces on the polished wood surface in neat patterns using a special glue.

The finished product is not only an attractive artistic piece, but one that can fetch good prices in the market for those who understand and appreciate art. “The value of art is sentimental. If you love a piece of artwork, you shouldn’t feel the pinch if you buy it at a good price. Unfortunately, very few people, especially in the villages, understand and appreciate the true value of art.

Chengo who hails from Sagalla in Voi Constituency, Taita-Taveta County, which is rich in gemstones, says he designs his artwork from these rare stones to encourage locals to find pride in their God-given resources.

However, he is unhappy that the local people still languish in poverty despite the vast resources found in their land. “This is very discouraging as it makes the locals view jewelry and other items designed from gemstones as a preserve of foreigners or the very rich folk” the artist says.

Chengo says even though he in not very old in his artistic pursuits, he is planning to venture into other productions of artwork apart from walking sticks. Among the items he is working on include flowerpots, wood carvings of wild animals and picture frames which he adorns with gemstone chips.

tourism target

Chengo says his artwork will from now on target tourists visiting Tsavo National Park.

“Many tourists love wildlife carvings and I am sure they will find my work attractive. In about three months, I will have made several items for sale to the tourists,” observes Chengo.

However, asked how he affords the gemstone chips that he uses in designing his artistic pieces despite the fact that so far he has not sold many of his items, he laughs off. “Most miners know me very well. I am their neighbour and on most occasions they allow me to visit their mines to collect the gemstones sand, sometimes I pay as little as Sh2,000 per scoop weighing about a kilo, while at times I get them at no cost.”

But he says once he gets enough money, he will purchase gemstones of higher quality that will also improve the look of his finished products.

“The price of gemstones varies depending on the type and quality. Garnets are the most expensive because they are the most attractive especially after being cut” says Chengo.

The budding artist says Taita-Taveta County Government should put up a gemstone cutting centre in the area instead of the gemstones being sold as raw materials. 

He observed that  Kenyans then imported jewelry made from the same gemstones selling them at high prices.

“Putting up a gemstones cutting plant in Taita-Taveta County will create job opportunities for our unemployed youths and also enable locals participate effectively in the gemstones business,” he adds.