Sikiliza

Earlier this year I teamed up with 5 other women to come together and have an art exhibition in Nairobi to celebrate International Women's day. As African artists we chose to illustrate African women through our lenses and worked with the theme, "Curving the Visual." I chose to work with women being life givers and tried to capture the surreal captivating beauty of a woman with child. Here are some of the highlights of that work. All the proceeds were going to women's charities the artist picked out. Enjoy...

I enjoy road trips so much...here are some of the things I came across.... Enjoy this picture story with me....                 " Boda Boda Album "    Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

Drops of joy plop in my path   Echoes of laughter close by A sudden splash of excitement Perhaps an inkling of hope Some light at the end of tunnel That will free my soul Allow my lips to lift again.

My father, Baba - RIP Ordinarily I would be up early excited at the prospect of my birthday coming up in a week. I lost my mother 3 weeks before I turned 21, that was 11 years ago; it took me quite a while to be able to go through the month of July without damp tears. I woke up thinking about fathers today. I recently lost mine, it’s been two weeks since he breathed his last and now he rests by mum’s side reunited in blissful heaven…Happy birthday thoughts are shelved away as I contemplate orphan hood. What I miss most about my father, Baba was his unbending honesty.  Our conditions, rules, stipulations, boundaries were always clear and more emphasized as I grew up and against all this the constant thing over the years was his love and concern. I remember days, weeks or months of sulking because of something he said to me and yet I still remember him coming home to check my homework before he slept. I never slept hungry in his care, not ever. No phone call went unreturned; no...

Sometimes one myself why I turn to write…. I write to express my fleeting thoughts, a slice of my mind…I write because it liberates me, it reminds me…I write because it heals me. I write so that I have something to recollect and muse over when I am lost for words. I write hoping that at least one person can understand me – and if that person is just me, that’s ok.

Milele Beach - Nyali I recently spent a weekend in Mombasa to visit our boy in school there. I tend to have a love-hate relationship with the coastal town depending on how brutal the sun is on me…made up of course by relaxing in the sea water. In my times there, I stay in a lovely apartment by the beach and enjoy lovely Swahili dishes from prolific Mzee Hamisi who can rustle up a banquet with very little effort. There is also apparently an agreement to swim next door at the Milele Beach swimming pool that makes the place a deal breaker. My last experience in Milele Beach though went terribly. Apparently the accountant had the pool attendant eject me without establishing first whether I was entitled to use the facility. What was worse was the effort his colleague made running after me as I reach the door of the beach house saying, “Oh we confirmed you can go ahead and swim please come back, sorry about the confusion.” OK, people, I can hardly call myself a proud person (!), b...

http://youtu.be/2IkYunWdjlo Dear Kenyans Let me share with you a lesson I learnt recently from my life partner...in all my time living in Kenya, I slinked around perosnalities and individuals who were carrying the mantle of so called "leadership." My opinions and my sentiments were based on the personal characters of these leaders. This influenced my choices in voting and in my expressing who I felt was a better pick from the bunch that place themselves for office... I didn't realise up until the 48th year of "celebrating madaraka" that my anger and my fight against impunity, corruption and infringement of basic human freedoms is misplaced. Its not about the individuals in positions of power but rather in the systems  and structures in which those positions are created. Laws are not remote things we that do not know about until we are in trouble...laws are our guardians and our protectors from a state state of chaos, fear and oppression. We have stayed so l...

Lake Nakuru National Park Walking through some childhood memories takes me to my early primary school (Moi Primo!!!)..Where I was a chipmunk (don’t ask) brownie and a rather fake girl guide. I basically used the uniform to enter the Nakuru show for free. To be honest my frustrations on being Girl Guide were  mainly because those blasted snotty class 7’s and 8’s never let us “raise the flag” on Fridays (this was of course my single top ambition!) Anyway once inside the show I was home free, I usually sneaked into the women’s domestic science and crafts display (gosh I cant believe we did this!) and changed into something more fun… One year me and two other friends decided to try and shoot for the local disco. We were like 11 years old. I remember pinching my sister Ciru’s 6 inch heels just like Tina Turners!…and I picked some controversial mini skirt I got from my Uncle Kamanzi from South Africa which was promptly packed away by mum (with no intention to see the light of day...

The joy in my spirit is dwindled Weighed by sadness and loss Of a cherished part of me. At times with love One needs to let things go Leave the room while While the scent of love Still fills the senses I take that love with me   Inhale it and fill my lungs My mind, my heart Let the love flow Reach each and every part of me. Let it linger in me Forever.

I am in alone. If I do not climb out of my hole Or seek the light,  Then darkness consumes me  I shrivel and die Rot and merge with the mulch Get crushed to dust and dirt My only purpose is to be trod on I am dirt. I am nothing. Not without love and sunshine.

Night sounds Dripping taps Barking dogs The trees bowing at every Wind’s presence. Night birds fleeting flapping wings playfully Lone car engines dash past Tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock goes the clock My breath in–out in-out in-out ; pause; a sudden yawn…. Eyes close mutely… Day Sounds Light streams in raucously Sudden amplified movements and rustles as if on cue Burst of loud long song of the day birds The road grows a new life car after car after car The clock takes a back seat ticking away dependably Music, word or thoughts leave our minds  Borne through our tongues, frowns and body speak Taking over day; carrying up the lamp of light letting us see, hear, speak, touch.

Thoughts to words to smiles or hurts The things we think or do or say The things we feel or hear or play Truth shrouded with cloaks of all kinds Feelings and thoughts are fragments Of an undone jigsaw puzzle. How many of us have the presence of mind To put into place each and every piece To fit and fix hearts and souls In the right space? How long should it take to complete? When does on give in to defeat? Why must we always tear it down once all the pieces are in place?

Pink Bloom in the Garden by Sikiliza The rain drops plop on the grass carpet Swallowed by the rich red soil beneath The sky greyed, heavy and swollen Opening revealing and birthing Cleansing us with bounties of water Washing off the grime on my burdened heart I lift my face, close my eyes and wait As the rain cleanses my tears of sorrow away

Women who bloom..By Sikiliza Curving the Visual is a photography exhibition involving 5 photographers. The artists are Barbara Minishi, Wambui Mwangi, Kasyoka Mwanzia, Silvia Gichia and me Sikiliza. The show is at Alliance Française Nairobi. The show has been extended to 21st April 2011.  Exhibition Review By Frank Whalley, The East African Women and nationhood by Sikiliza I enjoyed my part where I chose to illustrate women as life givers, their transformations within, outward changes, the curves, the glow and the moments of pensiveness as they lay a hand on their belly wondering about the life growing inside them...perhaps imagining what great things the unborn generations will do on this earth... Women as Life-givers by Sikiliza I am also very pleased with the wonderful reviews we received from this show...  I hope this encourages more of us women to document and illustrate our lives and our beauty...our lives, our stories.... Women creators of future gene...

You are a rock of in my life. Elephants in Amboseli 2010 In you I hear words and see expressions or an impish grin So familiar as I recognise it each time I look into the mirror. All through my life I have looked up to the ways You touch things and turn them to glittering gold. Stories weren’t just stories with you, they came alive And you captivated my mind. You made hard things look so easy You never let me sink and wallow in those dark places You woke me up from my nightmares And gave me real dreams to float away with. You are another me A braver one A me I am very proud of being part of.

Tomorrow, Tuesday the 8th of March 2011 is International Women's Day. To many this day may not mean very much to our otherwise busy lives...it was the same case for me for a long time. But then I came across amazing women, great thinkers and women who are driven to make a positive difference in palpable ways. Women who are generous with thought, ideas and sharing of skills and experience. Women who are courageous to stand against all wrong. Motherhood and sisterhood meshed together. And so I paid a little bit more attention to these kinds of women and on what they do to make a difference no matter how small... I consider them all very much as my mentors and I learnt the lesson of replacing self gratification to a much wider scale; that of lifting the lives of others. This year, I was invited to participate in a journey of art called "Curving the Visual" it involves the photographic art of Wambui Mwangi, Silvia Gichia, Barbara Minishi, Kasyoka Mwanzia and me, Sikiliza. The...

We are extremely proud to be Kenyan! We are proud of our beautiful country! We are proud of our diversity cultures and traditions! We are proud of our heroes! We are proud of our high achievers! We are proud of being hustlers! We are proud of our hoods! We are proud of our tribes and twengs! We are proud of our kanges and our mats! We are proud of our artists and musicians! We are proud of our industries and farms! We are proud of our sports teams! On the 28th of February 2011 at 1pm, wherever you are, at work, in the supermarket, in traffic, in school, on campus, in hospitals, in churches, in mosques, in temples, in synagogues, on sports pitches, in court, on your farm, at police stations, at armed forces barracks, in matatus, in buses, on the beach, in the game parks, at the airport, in parliament, in State House, in your homes .. On the 28th of February 2011 at 1pm, we stand On the 28th of February 2011 at 1pm, we u...

One day while in primary school, we went for a school trip in Nairobi. We spent a day in parliament and heard the rants and goings on… All the “know-it-alls” were popping out random facts and trivia like they knew everything …others looked bored out of their pants and got fidgety and had painful looks almost bursting in their seats…others oohed and ahhed…and I sat and listened…one of the things that struck us was when the then Education minister Oloo Aringo asked the house, “So, Honourable Member, how much is too much ?” The question caused a roar of laughter at the session…we didn’t get it…well, not at first...it took a while to get the brain engine revving up. Then like a wave of laughter and looks of sudden realisation we went like… “Oooohhh yaaa how much is too much…?hahahaha…” “Ehe how much is tooooo much eh?” ...and all the way back to Nakuru everyone asked each other…“So, how much is toooo much? Followed by hysterical laughter…the more you reaaaaallly...