Sikiliza

For some years now I have been making most of my own jewellery and accessories. Its opened up an avenue to release some of the creative energies I once lost along the way…A process that revitalises me.  In this space of handwork I go by the name Imani and enjoy featuring my work through my photos on instagram   Imani Kipepeo  . With each piece or collection made comes  a carthatic way to draw out some insights that help me in understanding and seeing life much more clearly.  I have the honour of having some amazing people dotted all over who wear my trinkets as my work evolved into an accessory store and handmade crafts, healing hub of sorts…. many of my clients come as a result of deep self love and self healing conversations and exchanges rather than as a result of a successful marketing campaign. So today I would love to share with you why I believe that the accessories and jewellery we wear or have around us can be so therapeutic…. It all starts with  t...

In memory of Binya - a sister’s tribute… Inner Voice Finding - 2022  Its been almost three years since I lost my brother, and only most recently that I finally felt brave enough to reread his writings. I still have a range of snail-mail letters, birthday cards, postcards he sent me growing up …there are emails spanning decades…and then, of course, his published work. In all of them, I hear his voice reverberating clearly and resoundingly. Growing up, I liked to share the progress of my home assignments with family… each of them had a ‘specialty’ in something, so I figured why not get a review before submission. My mother, for instance, was an artist. Creating things and drawing things came easily to her, and she had a good eye…she would walk through the steps of, say, drawing a vase of flowers (still life art class) by looking briefly at a vase of flowers in the room and sketch it on paper effortlessly. It was all magic to me, and  I stared at the process in awe… before I coul...

Making meaning with things….@imanikipepeo Dear I, I just thought to Remind Who I am… That I have abandoned all else and surrendered to the power of now.  I, the light seeker…truth quester,  I, the wounded, the survivor, a jester, a lover,  I, tenant of this body.  I, who eased the tight grip of control… I remain, in motion and in stillness I, who goes where it flows… 

Tuning in to the Soulvoice I have picked up on consistently journaling once again after a long hiatus!  Woop Woop!  And its been incredible!  I struggle less with writer’s block, and putting my thoughts down on paper has helped me process and synthesise my ideas with much more refinement. While I still have to type quite a bit due to work and this modern-day life of 2022…  I still clutch to the traditional use of pen and paper. I have retained essential work and study notebooks tracing back ten years which really come in handy from time to time. There are things that simply stick just because I wrote them down. And funny enough, I can decipher my mood and sentiments based on the way I shifted my handwriting. Its like a mood and thought map that only I can understand.  My process in handwriting helps me direct my senses to interact with the present task at hand. The touch and feel of the paper, the pen, nib, colours, the smell of ink, sounds of scribbling are all...

the closing gap of pen on paper,  words slowly shape and form  beginning to take certain meaning. thoughts pour generously dripping and dribbling into sense or non-sense  it all depends on how open we are  to discovery of life miracles and mysteries. Life beckons us to take our seats  at the place secrets are revealed   and if one blinks they may miss its lesson… as it invites us to acknowledge, observe  bear witness to three precious gifts  we often disregard in our existence… Gifts of MEMORY   - bearing vast imprints and inheritance from our ancestors  Gift of WAKEFULNESS   - brings awareness of opportunities that lie in the present moment Gift of IMAGINATION  - formless futures not yet manifested and ease to detach letting them go…

@Sikilizaspeaks, Dakar 2022 This is me recently exploring the sensory delights of Marché soumbédioune in Dakar. Over 15 years ago I visited Senegal for the first time and spent more than four months backpacking and in a mission to discover self and my creative energies.  Sikilizaspeaks in 2007 I was weaning off a very difficult phase in my life my pilgrimage trip was a pathway to find parts of myself I lost along the way. It was also the time I began the journey of this blog. There are no regrets. It is a bittersweet memory as my biggest cheerleader while on this solo trip was my late brother…he encouraged me to photograph, write and be intentional about expressing myself. He bought me my first camera and gave me my first hand-me-down laptop.   I called him Swes but others knew him as Binya He joined me briefly and together we took a memorable road trip to the Gambia, and visited some traditional wrestling events and did some sightseeing, where I got to know and connect w...

Story matters… words matter… pictures matter.  I take pictures. I share stories in this way… And being a snail mail fan taking pictures of places printing them and sending postcards is one of my love languages. That said over the years we seem to have lost the interest and art of sending loved ones postcards. While I know that the world has gone digital and no longer sees value of handwritten letters and cards, I still cling to it. I place a lot of value in making time and effort in handmade and hand written gestures. However, I have often struggled with postcards that paint Africa with very problematic imagery. The  term “Big Five” is thrown around in Kenyan game drives despite its problematic roots.  The phrase coined by western trophy hunters (read as those who kill wildlife for pleasure) who considered the lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo as dangerous but a challenge to hunt and kill. It is not unusual to see bookstores, curio shops and stores displayin...