Sikiliza

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...