An Abundance Of Finger Rings

Buttons, Buttons, Buttons that are much too cute and beautiful to be clinging to an old ladies coat!

If You Like, You Can Repair My Pantihose

When asked, it is often difficult to say for people why they collect certain things. They just have to have them. I collect a wide variety of things. And I can say, the common denominator amongst most of them is that they come from a time or an era that has become extinct now and that they were used in activities that people do not do anymore. This links directky to the fact that I am absolutely fascinated by handmade things and traditional crafting techniques. When art was daily bread!

Stranded Darning, specially prepared for your fine silk hose! Found in East London in a second hand shop.

I remember hearing my grandmother say, that she was taught as a child by her mother how to mend a pantihose or silk stockings..

That must have been around 1920.

Shebeening - Mixed Media Art Painting

Shebeening or a Thousand Rand

Mixed Media Art Painting inspired by the activity of shebeening

Acrylic on canvas.

100 flattened bottle caps equivalent to the sum of approximately 1000 Rand

The word 'Shebeen' derives from Irish sibín, meaning 'illicit whisky'

The term has spread far from its origins in Ireland, to Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia .

A shebeen was originally an illicit bar or club where alcohol was sold without a licence.

In South Africa and Zimbabwe shebeens are most often located in black townships as an alternative to pubs and bars, where under Apartheid and the Rhodesian era, black Africans could not enter a pub or bar reserved for whites.

Originally, shebeens were operated illegally, selling home brewed beer and home distilled liquor and providing patrons with a place to meet and discuss political and social issues. Often, patrons and owners were arrested by the police, though the shebeens were frequently reopened because of their importance in unifying the community and providing a safe place for discussion. During the apartheid era shebeens became a crucial meeting place for activists, some attracting working class activists and community members, while others attracted lawyers, doctors and musicians.

Shebeens also provided music and dancing, allowing patrons to express themselves culturally, which helped give rise and support the musical genre Kwaito. Currently, shebeens are legal in South Africa and have become an integral part of South African urban culture, serving commercial beers as well as umqombothi, a traditional African beer made from maize and sorghum. Shebeens form an important part of today’s social scene. In contemporary South Africa, they serve a function similar to juke joints for African Americans in the rural south. They represent a sense of community, identity, and belonging.(wikipedia)

Explosion In The Subway

An Explosion In The Subway

Mixed Media Art Poster by Chocolat Negro

This is a large poster print of an original mixed media art piece by me.
Printed on matte high quality paper 160 mg in a professional laboratory.
It is printed with Archival High Quality inks.
All my prints Signed, dated and numbered by artist.

Summer, Like You

There are people in this world, they are just like summer.

You never feel cold with them.

This ring and the rest of the fabric vintage button collection has been inspired by one of them!

The Flower Behind The Blue Fence

Title: The Flower Behind the Blue Fence

By Chocolat Negro

Recycled Art, Mixed Media Art

Dimensions 30cm x 30 cm

Material: Industrial Steel Waste, Hair curlers, Paper Waste, Porcupine Quills, Acrylic and Laquer on Canvas

The Flower Behind the Blue Fence is one of my smaller artworks of 2012. It has been created using waste material abundantly. Industrial waste in form of small steel particles originating from a steel perforating machine, paper off-cuts and a set of broken hair curlers have been applied and arranged in thick layers.
"The only natural ingredient" are two porcupine quills. The edges are finished off with white acrylic and the surface is sealed with clear matte lacquer.

Although the painting is abstract in nature, the Abstract is used only as part and as an element that contributes to the whole arrangement. There is room for interpretation but the spectator is guided in a certain direction in a subtle way.

The thickness of the layer and the mass of material used correlates to the extent the human nation produces waste and discards of items at present on the planet earth.

And amidst all of it there can still grow a flower!

The Courageous Ant

To ride a wild beast takes great courage!

The Bridesmaiden

photographic installation with four delicate white flowers

The Rope Artist