Our Garden Path has Found that African Stone Sculpture is the Perfect Complement to Contemporary Landscapes and to Add that Extra Touch to Your Home

    SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, July 27, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- During her 20 years as the owner of Our Garden Path, landscape design and construction specialist Vicki Beecher has been looking for something special to enhance and complement her garden designs.

She has found it within African stone sculpture, hand-carved stone sculptures sourced from Zimbabwe for interior and exterior areas. Vicki's intriguing range of the African stone sculpture complement the gardens she and her team create, and add a contemporary touch to any home. Each piece is personally selected by Vicki for its individuality and quality.

African stone sculpture is unique, they can be utilised in many applications including indoor or outdoor, contemporary or traditional, and come in a variety of sizes.

The history of the Shona and their sculpture

The Shona people are from a range of different ethnic groups across Zimbabwe that share similar languages. They are descendants of people who have lived in the region of Zimbabwe for around 2000 years. The Shona tribe is the largest indigenous group of Zimbabwe, representing over 80% of the population and numbering approximately nine million. In the Shona language, 'Zimbabwe' means 'Great Stone House' or 'house built of stone'.

The Shona are known internationally for their stone sculpture. Their stone carvings date back to the time of Great Zimbabwe which began in the 11th century by the Shona peoples' Bantu-speaking ancestors. Great Zimbabwe was built and grew over a period of 300 years and remains the largest ancient structure south of the Sahara desert. Its ruins cover nearly 1,800 acres and, at its height, it is estimated to have held a population of more than 10,000 people.

The revival of Shona stone sculpture

The art of stone sculpture was revived in Zimbabwe in the late 1950s when Frank McEwen brought Shona stone sculpture to the National Gallery of Art in what was then Rhodesia.

McEwen was an English artist with a great interest in African art and culture. He established a Shona stone sculpture workshop in Zimbabwe, initially for his staff, and later for anyone interested in carving. He gave his students the materials and tools and asked them to draw inspiration from their traditional beliefs. He did not provide training and refused to influence his students on the subject of their sculptures.

McEwen's students' sculptures became popular with tourists and, as their popularity has grown, they have been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world.

"This art is imbued with extraordinary, intense spirituality. It will get into you and work on you forever," says Frank McEwen from the National Gallery of Zimbabwe.

Shona sculpture traditions
The Shona believe that everything, including stone, has a 'life spirit'. The artists believe that 'life spirit' defines the shape each stone will eventually take. By carving the artwork, they are 'releasing the spirit from the stone'.

Many African stone sculptors are, to this day, self-taught. They still freely express their own individual artistic feelings and draw upon their traditional beliefs when carving.

Vicki and Our Garden Path

Vicki's reputation as an intuitive designer has garnered lots of interest from home owners looking for someone to design gardens that reflect their individual lifestyle.

Her innovative and unique approach enables her clients to connect with nature through the creation of outdoor rooms; the choice and placement of each unique African stone sculpture further adds to the connection clients feel with their environment.

Vicki's experience and understanding of the landscape industry enables Our Garden Path to offer a high standard of workmanship coupled with the administrative skills necessary to complete works on schedule and to budget.

Go to Our Garden Path (www.ourgardenpath.com.au) to view samples of completed landscape projects and samples of African Stone sculptures.

Contact Vicki from Our Garden Path on 0414481602, 0299133676 or email [email protected]

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