LivLife
The Grotto is back!
And this time it’s snowing…

A Christmas gift that will last forever…
LivLife are proud to re-launch their Christmas Grotto, bringing you a range of great, personalized cards that will give people in desperate poverty the gift of education this Christmas.  LivLife’s gifts come in a range of sizes & prices from a meal of maize for our kindergarten children to the building of a new education center!

FROM ONLY
£5.00

Why we do it?
LivLife believes everyone has the right to live a life free from poverty.
Click on the video for Shadrack’s tour of our projects.

Read more about the LivLife projects and people here. Wonderful people.

My Twins, Sports day at LivLife’s Education Center, Arusha, Tanzania

Your support is greatly appreciated.

Kind regards

Tania Bale
African Art Online.Com

For example pictured to the left:
Pygmy Figure Cameroon 19th-20th Century
Bamuon People

Some people say this figure represents an extinct or threatened pygmy people.
It is an intriguing idea but difficult to prove. Nonetheless it is a fascinating piece.
The male and female only differentiated by subtle genitalia which appear to compliment each other.

This is  a collectors heaven.

Please head on over to view a very unique collection of fine African Ethnographics. Exclusive to African Art Online

Kind regards
Tania Bale
African Art Online

Don’t forget to join us on Face Book

His work caught the attention of two Australia collectors, who arranged for him to exhibit in Queensland, Australia, there Lobulu was introduced to acrylic paints and canvas, a medium he enthusiastically adopted and brought back to Tanzania.

Baba Lobulu’s unique acrylic style is unmistakable; large, abstractly colorful, and yet intensely realistic, his portraits of his Maasai countrymen are dramatic pieces. His use of international technique and aesthetic to depict subjects from his indigenous heritage is a beautifully successful blend of the modern and traditional. Baba Lobulu’s work is proudly shown throughout Tanzania.

To view Emmanuel “Baba’s” Lobulu’s fine collection of art. Head on over to African Art Online.

Enjoy and please join us on Facebook

Kind Regards
Tania Bale
African Art Online

The Fine Art and Antiques collection is the only one of its kind in the world, ranging from African antiques to contemporary and wildlife painting and sculpture and photography. You will be dazzled by our assembly of art and artifacts. The Gallery is a breath taking feat of engineering and artful display that will leave you awe-struck.

The Gallery was opened in 2010 after many years of imaging and five years of construction. The unique exterior was designed by our very own Director while the interior is the brainchild of Studio Infinity, a firm of architects from Nairobi.

The Gallery’s exterior is inspired by a drum, shield and spear; well known African objects charged with traditional meanings. The spear represents survival and strength and us a symbol of masculinity, pride and prestige. The shield signifies safety and shelter and represents bravery and identity. The drum is a symbol of maternity and community as well as a means of communication and celebration.

Together these resonate with the gallery’s role in the community – to represents, communication and celebrate Africa’s cultural heritage.

To view a stunning collection of African Ethnographics, A collectors haven!!! Please follow this link African Art Online

Enjoy!!!
Tania Bale
African Art Online.Com

Novica in association with National Geographic are excited to announce the launch of NOVICA Live, their new home based selling company. Over the years, Novica’s customers have told them they would love to see their products live and in person. For this reason, they launched the new party plan division giving new Consultants the opportunity to do just that — showcase beautiful gifts and jewelry through home parties in an entertaining way, while supporting artisans worldwide.

As a NOVICA Live Consultant, you can break free from of the shackles of humdrum 9 to 5, while bringing fair trade, handcrafted treasures direct to customers through their unique direct sales parties..

Become the authority on beautiful artisan-crafted jewelry, fashionable accessories, and world class home decor, as you take the reins on your fresh new career. With a friendly support net, fabulous products and a worthy cause, the sky is the limit!

How Can You Get Started?

When you start out on your journey towards a rewarding new career, you will not be alone! With regular live sales coaching calls, 1 on 1 mentoring, training events and extensive starter manuals – you have a wide support net to ensure your success!

A Good Cause

For every NOVICA Live party held, the host can designate an artisan to receive a microcredit loan, paid for by NOVICA Live.

Microcredit is an excellent way to empower creative entrepreneurs with the means to grow their business into a sustainable income. Novica’s Artisan Loan program charges artisans 0% interest on their loans, providing them with much needed credit at no cost.
Click here to find out more about Novica’s Micro finance program

What Consultants are Saying

“I am having the best time as a Consultant with NOVICA Live! This isn’t like any other home party company – we are ‘ambassadors’ for artisans around the world. It’s thrilling to see the guests watch the DVD of the products being made – seeing the artisans themselves working on them and then seeing their reactions as I pass the actual samples around. I feel like I am not just selling something; I am making a difference in the lives of artisans At the same time, my customers are thrilled with the quality, prices and appearance of the pieces they receive from all over the world.”

Jean D., California

“Our Novica Live party was awesome! An intimate gathering of friends quickly turned giddy when everyone got to see and handle the beautiful products. No gimmicks, just stunning jewelry and fun conversation. What’s more, everyone came away feeling good about supporting artisans in the global community. A few guests, some previously unfamiliar with Novica, were already asking about hosting parties of their own before the night ended! It was a great experience that everyone enjoyed.”

Claire & Charlotte, California

If you love the NOVICA dream, and want to help them spread the word so they can benefit the lives of many more artisans, please join them!

Be the bridge between artisans and customers when you host a NOVICA Live party or become a NOVICA Live Consultant.

Success Earn Rewards

As a consultant, all your hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. You can earn trips abroad to NOVICA’s world regions, and FREE handcrafted jewelry & gifts!

Earn a Free Trip to Bali

Travel to the magical island of Bali in September 2012! You’ll meet the same artisans who create the beautiful treasures you showcase in your parties!

This exciting cultural odyssey is offered to all Consultants who are promoted to the title of DIRECTOR between July 1st 2011, and April 31st 2012.

One of your traveling companions on this trip-of-a-lifetime will be NOVICA co-founder Armenia Nercessian, who was featured as a real life character in Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestseller “Eat, Pray, Love.” You can read Armenia’s full story here.

This trip of a life time will include:

• Flights and accomodation
• A tour of artisan workshops
• Meet the artisans themselves
• Shopping tour of magical Ubud
• A conference with Novica Founders
• Sightseeing – “Eat, Pray, Love” style!

To request  more information about this fantastic business opportunity head on over to the Novica Live site

Please Note: This business opportunity is only available to citizens within the USA.

All the best to your success!

Kind regards
Tania Bale
African Art Online

James in a traditional Maasai Shuka

By Ross Norton
Media Relations

James Nampushi has great respect for the lion that almost killed him.

That lion made James an honored warrior, a hero and eventually the first college graduate among his Maasai people. And it was the lion that brought James to Clemson where soon he will earn his master’s degree and begin working on a Ph.D. in park management.

That was not the lion’s objective, of course, but that’s the way it happened. It’s impossible to know what the lion was thinking, exactly, but James has an idea. Lions just know things, he said.

And that day, the great predator knew its life was in danger. He identified the bravest of three Maasai men moving closer. And the lion knew that he or the leader — perhaps both — would die.

“The lion also was brave,” James said.

The bravest of the three young warriors, according to the songs and the stories and the witnesses — not to mention the lion — was James Nampushi. Now, he is a 29-year-old graduate student in Clemson’s Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management department. Then, he was 19 and a candidate for the honored status of Maasai warrior.

After a lifetime of living among the most dangerous animals of Kenya, the three youth had reached the age where the Maasai test the character and courage of their young men to see if they are worthy of the full mantle of Maasai warrior.

“For you to become a warrior, you have to be tested,” James said. “You have to prove the bravery. You have to prove that you are courageous, that you are able to face the beast of the jungle, the lion king, and use your spear and bare hands to kill with the most appropriate skills. That you can kill the lion and survive.”

To understand why the Maasai kill lions, it is necessary to understand their relationship with cows.

“Cows are our life partners,” James said. “I would rather have nine cows than $9 million in my account.”

Shortly after James arrived in Clemson, he was feeling the anxiety and stress of life in a foreign country. A friend took him to a cattle farm where he stood among the cows for a time and felt their calming influence.

“The cows, they brought me peace. They made me happy,” he said.

While others in East Africa learned to cultivate the land and depend on a cash economy, the Maasai continued to live off the blood, milk and meat of their cattle. As the rest of Kenyan society modernized, the government kept the Maasai on the margins for the benefit of tourism, James believes. So their relationship with nature remains raw. When lions killed seven cows one night, the Maasai response would be to discipline the lions — to remind them that cows are off limits.

James and two others were chosen to pursue and kill one of the lions. As the elders saw it, the lion needed killing, and the three young men needed to prove they were worthy warriors.

When the young men found the lion, James directed the other two into position. The three would place themselves in a triangle around the lion so that their spears would not strike each other if they missed the lion. The lion saw that it was James giving the orders, that it was James taking charge, that it was James who was bravest. So the lion attacked James.

The lion was just 15 feet away when it made its move. James had little time to react. He aimed his spear for a place on the charging lion’s breast that he knew covered a vulnerable center of veins and organs.

“But the lion was also brave in coming,” James said. “He dodged and I didn’t get the target, but I got close.”

As the lion leaped with its entire weight toward James, the six-foot spear sank deep into the length of its body. Only the last three inches were outside the breast. It was a serious wound to the animal, but not immediately fatal. For the moment, the lion intended to keep fighting.

It snared James’ left hand with its jaws. James pulled a short sword he carried at his side, intending to cut the lion’s throat.

“But the lion gave me a kick on the elbow, and my sword was thrown out,” James said.

Now James is held in the mouth of a lion, and his only remaining weapons are the other two warriors. But they can’t help without harming James. The lion lifts James and uses him as a shield, placing James between him and the other spears. In doing so, it pushes a front paw at the left of James’ stomach. James doesn’t know it yet, but the sharp claw cuts so deeply that his intestines bulge from the wound. When the lion rips a gash at his lower right leg, blood rushes from James so fast that his strength wanes. As he loses consciousness, James is still held fast by the lion.

‘If nature says you die, you die’

It is a long way from the bush to Lehotsky Hall for James Simiren Ole Nampushi. James’ village had no running water, no electricity, not even a table. He studied on the floor of a hut in the evenings by kerosene light with a small box on his lap. In the mornings, he ran nine miles to school. He ran to avoid elephants and buffalo.

Everyone drank from a watering hole, but they shared it with the animals. And humans are not at the top of the pecking order at the watering hole. The elephants go first, the buffalo drink second, and so it goes until the people get a turn, right after the cattle. By then the water is unclean, and the people use only their clothing as a filter.

His people don’t even bother to dream about college in America. They busy themselves with survival.

“Nature dictates how long and when you live. If nature says you die, you die. You have no options,” James said.

After eight years, he went to a boarding high school where he experienced his first taste of modern conveniences.

“When I went to high school, I saw a new beginning. I saw the [electric] power, I saw the water from the tap, and I saw for the first time a sink,” James said. “I put on shoes for the first time.”

He said it took a year to get comfortable in shoes. James still is not accustomed to a mattress, and he credits the cow skin he slept on as a child for the strength of his back. On holidays, he returned to his village, where he helped the other young people herd goats and cows.

With a lifetime of training behind him, he became a running champion at school, though eventually he gave up athletics to concentrate on academics. He came to believe that the survival of his culture would depend upon better education for his people.

When he graduated from the school, there was still the matter of becoming a warrior. It was his and his cohort’s need to prove their worthiness that put them on the path to battle the lion.

Fortunately for James, gravely wounded and helpless under the claws and teeth of an injured and angry lion, his friends were up to the task. They could have run away, but instead they attacked the lion as soon as James’ limp body was on the ground. They killed the lion and used their clothing to bandage James. They carried him to a cave and began treating him with plant medicine gathered in the bush. Only then did one of them run back to the village to relay the news.

For six months, he was nursed in the cave with bone marrow soup and plant medicine, until he was fit to walk back to the village. He returned — with the lion’s mane and tail dressing his spear — to a jubilant village.

Five-thousand warriors and thousands more Maasai crowded into James’ small village for the celebration. They composed songs and told stories to honor him. He became a celebrated warrior not just in his village, but in all of Maasailand. He became a junior elder and member of the Council of Elders. The leaders told him he could marry any woman of his choosing.

James had other plans. Though he would marry later, at his moment of triumph James chose instead to enroll in Moi University where he studied tourism. His education was supported by his village and an ecotourism group called Base Camp Foundation, for whom he worked during school and after graduation.

It was at Base Camp’s Maasai Mara ecolodge that he met an American tourist from Fountain Inn, Jimbo Burry, who became fascinated with the articulate young man so determined to pursue an education in order to help improve the lives of his people.

“He told me he wanted to get a master’s degree,” Burry said. “Now, keep in mind, he was sitting there with a spear in his hand. I said, ‘Well James, you have to have a four-year degree first.’” Burry was amazed to learn that James had just earned a degree, and the conversation set the two men on a path that would lead James to Clemson University, sponsored by the man he now affectionately calls Dad.

A boy from the village

James’ first taste of Clemson was the First Friday Parade, in which he carried the Kenyan flag.

“That really fascinated me. I have never seen in my life the solidarity and the unity of the University and the neighbors. I saw little kids lining up on the side of the road. … I saw the elders, the senior citizens, standing up to show solidarity and unity and togetherness with Clemson and the entire student community who turned up to march with me and the band and the Tigers. … That made me feel more attached and I developed a deeper belonging to Clemson University as a community and I said, ‘God, now I’m here. You brought me from the bush and now I am here and this is a top-class university and they accepted me.’ So I had to do something for the university,” James said.

Now that he’s a graduate student, James has two objectives: to make the most of his education and to show the University and community how much he appreciates the opportunity. When he returns to Kenya, he wants to help manage the rich natural resources that are the mainstay of Maasai culture — the Maasai Mara and the Mau Forest. In Clemson, meanwhile, he visits local groups, from schoolchildren to nursing homes, to share his story and culture. He carries with him the very spear he used to defeat the lion.

“In my heart, Clemson University has done so much for me. They got me from the village to where I am now,” James said. “Me, a boy from the village at a top-class university! I must work hard. I must work hard. This is a miracle to me. To be here, is God. I must work hard because I know where I came from and where I am now. So I have to do something for Clemson.”

Clemson student James Nampushi had to kill a lion in his home country of Kenya to earn the honored status of Maasai Warrior. He holds the spear he used to kill the lion as well a giraffe's tail.

What a remarkable story, such a courageous young man. Congratulations on your University degree James. All the very best to you and your family from African Art Online

Kind Regards
Tania Bale
African Art Online

It’s been so much fun and has really exceeded our expectations.

We wanted to say a very big thank you to you for supporting us.
It really means so much to the Artists to have a platform where they
can showcase their work.

We started out with 30 paintings on our site, now we have over 500 unique pieces.
It just gets bigger and better.
We have artists from East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa.
Modern Art, Contemporary Art, Digital Art, Hand crafted art, Traditional Art, the list goes on.

Africa is such a diverse culture, so many interesting people.
Which is why we see such a wonderful range of Art from Africa.

So to celebrate our 3rd Birthday, we’ve put together some awesome deals.

Click on the link to view, maybe your favorite piece is
On Sale Now!

Thank you again for your support.

Kind regards
Tania Bale
African Art Online.

Africa is not a country. It is the world’s second largest continent and the second most populous, after Asia. Occupying 20 percent of the Earth’s land area, it measures roughly 5,000 miles from north to south and about 4,600 miles from east to west. This makes it about four times the size of the United States.

Africa’s population of about 890 million is slightly less than 14 percent of total world population. Its peoples belong to thousands of ethnic groups and clans. Some of the more widely known ethnic groups in Africa are Arab, Ashanti, Bantu, Berber, Dinka, Fulani, Ganda, Yoruba, Hausa, Kikuyu, Luba, Lunda, Malinke, Moor, Nuer, Tuareg and Xhosa.

Africans are by no means homogeneous. There is no African culture. Africans have diverse and varied ways of life. They behave differently from country to country, ethnic group to ethnic group and clan to clan.

There is also no African language. Africans speak about 2,000 languages. Among Africa’s most widely spoken languages are Swahili, Hausa, Yoruba, Bantu, Akan, Arabic, Koma and Songhai.

And far from being a perpetual laggard, Africa has made and still makes quite significant contributions to the world order. History 101 says Africa provided the slave labor that developed the New World and enriched the Old World. Today, Africa provides columbite-tantalite, the mineral from which the computer chips that drive the 21st century’s high-tech global economy are made.

Algeria, Egypt, Libya and Nigeria are the major petroleum and natural gas producing countries in Africa. They account for about 20 percent of the world’s petroleum needs. Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa together produce 50 percent of the world’s diamonds. Ghana, South Africa and Zimbabwe together produce nearly 50 percent of the world’s gold.

Africa also contributes 70 percent of the world’s cocoa each year, 34 percent of the coffee and 50 percent of the palm products. The United States imports 30 to 60 percent of key African products; French industry depends on Africa for over 90 percent of its uranium, cobalt and manganese, 76 percent of its bauxite, 50 percent of its chromium and 30 percent of its iron ore; and British industry depends on Africa for 80 percent of its chromium, 65 percent of its lubrication oil, 55 percent of its manganese and 54 percent of its cobalt. China imports nearly 30 percent of its oil and gas from sub-Saharan Africa.

Africa is the continent longest inhabited by human beings. There are two competing theories to explain how mankind spread across the globe from Africa.

The “Out of Africa” theory suggests that between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago, modern man (Homo sapiens) emerged from Africa to slowly populate the rest of the world, replacing any human species that were already there.

The other theory suggests that modern humans arose simultaneously in Africa, Europe and Asia from one of our predecessors, Homo erectus, who left Africa about 2 million years ago.

Proponents of each theory, however, agree on one point—that all humans alive today could share common ancestry with a being in Africa who lived 120,000 to 220,000 years ago.

History is emphatic that Africa is the cradle of civilization. Egypt, Ethiopia and the ancient empires of Mali, Songhai, Kongo, Oyo, Kanem-Bornu and Ghana are among Africa’s early civilizations. The Nile Valley is also acclaimed for the inventions its African inhabitants bequeathed to modern civilization.

Africa boasts of having some of the best brains in the world. According to the United States Census Bureau, Africans are the most educated ethnic group in the United States.

But what do the Western media say Africa is?

This dehumanization of Africa has become a matter of concern not only to Africans, at home and in the diaspora, but also to teeming non-Africans who have suckled at Africa’s generous breasts.

Very interesting read indeed. Seems to me Africa is a very wealthy Country. Where does all the money go?

This article was written by,  African Business Forum Consortium please help support their forum on Linkedin.

All the best
Tania Bale
African Art Online.Com

NAME: Thompson Namukaba

BORN: 1981

COUNTRY: ZAMBIA

ARTIST STATEMENT:

Personally, I believe nature has it, even for every answer we might be looking for.

I owe my Artistic background to a typical rural of the African terrain. My works tell the story of Africa and Africans though with a universal language my subjects range from traditional Zambian life, landscapes and wild animals.

As a younger boy growing up in a natural environment. Enjoying every bit of nature in its horrid peace, where fear and pleasure take sides to nurture courage in boys. Clay was my closest ally in learning and interpreting life around, as I molded clay into things of beauty, first for myself, then for others. For me that was life. Using my childhood loneliness hours on end at my preferred spot along the banks of Kawezyi river, for that quality clay soil, too overwhelmed to notice the passing of time. Alone I’d be, yet not lonely my company was with lifeless creatures of clay moulds and that type of bird music you’d hear in tree tops of quiet rivers.

It’s in Africa where the sun heats without reserve, and that’s how I dried my clay moulds. To me they had life. Nature is what inspires me most. I have also had a chance to learn from professional Artists like David Shepherd, and I was privileged to chat with him when he was in Zambia in 2010. I like his dubs of amber to give prominence in trees and the way he reflects dead glass with lemon yellow shadowed with ochre. He is my mentor.

All that past to me, was ‘play.’ Then it became work.

With time I grew in my Art life to Drawing and Painting. I do graphic designing and illustrations too. Clay is partly history now overtaken by the brush on canvas and paper not to mention computer graphics as I work my way seriously to engage in cartoon animation. But still, to me influence lies in the wild of Africa. That’s why my works are about nature.

To view a beautiful collection of Thompson’s original works, please head over to African Art Online

Kind regards
Tania Bale
African Art Online.Com

Esther creates graphic design, illustration and fine art paintings.

She works in crayon, acrylic and watercolor and a mix of different mediums, including digital graphics.

To view a fabulous collection of Esther’s work head on over to African Art Online.

Kind Regards                                                  
Tania Bale
African Art Online