Where it all began.
Discovering the Maasai.
This journey began back in 1997 when I was asked to create a home decor line for a U.K. company. Originally our conversation began with the Native Americans however I had something else in mind.
Long story short...understanding Africa's influence worldwide on our everyday surroundings I chose to research the Maasai tribe. Everything from music to fashion to cuisine... it is all around us. And for this I wanted to celebrate their incredible steadfast culture. At this time there was very little information available about the Maasai tribe and well before the internet. So I traveled to Emory University to view a series of videos titled 'A Diary of the Maasai Village'. From this the concept 'Maasai; Proud people of Cattle' was born and went on to sell in over 22 countries.
These AP (artist proof) masters were cast directly from my original clay sculpture using what is called the first generation mold. Some of the pieces have slight 'artist's tooling' visible on them which makes these pieces even more special. From this original mold additional casts was made and perfected in R&D and the second generation molds were produced. So many thanks to Andy and David & crew... an incredible part of the team. These molds were then used to create the Limited Edition pieces. On the bottom of each AP master you will see the sign off signatures and dates.
I have kept these AP pieces tucked away in safe keeping and have decided that this would be a wonderful way to give back during these difficult time in our own history. I will be donating a portion of the proceeds to www.UCHEALTHNOCOFOUNDATION.org in order to support these incredible men and women. I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to give back through my art. Thank you for visiting my work and together we will get through this.