Leora Raikin grew up in South Africa with no television and few toys. Needlework was the evening entertainment. She learned it from her mother, who learned it from her own mother.
Embroidery “was the favorite family pastime,” says Raikin, who now lives in Southern California.
In her works, colorful images – lions, hippos, rhinos, crocodiles, birds, flowers – frolic against a black background. The art form is growing in popularity in the United States, thanks to Raikin, who in 2003 started a company called African Folklore Embroidery.
This April, the art will be televised on DIY Network; this spring, workshops will be offered in Colorado Springs at Ruth’s Stitchery.
“African ethnic art is about bright colors on black background,” she says. “The contrast makes it exciting. What people like is they can choose whatever color they want. You want to stitch your elephant in pink and the sun blue, you can do that.”
Raikin’s company is affiliated with a charity called KidzPositive, an AIDS organization in South Africa that helps HIV-infected women support their families through the sale of dolls, bookmarks and other products available through aflembroidery.com. – Colleen O’Connor, Denver Post staff writer
The images of your folklore embroidery kits are from the Ndebele tribe of South Africa. It’s a very small but well-known tribe. Women in this tribe are famous for their beadwork and artwork, and for painting the outside of their houses bright primary colors.
There’s lots of lovely ocean imagery. South Africa is a really beautiful country. Aside from tribal scenes and village scenes, there is also some of the most beautiful ocean beaches and natural wildlife in the whole world. Even penguin colonies. They live on the beach and swim with people. … I’m educating people about South Africa through African Folklore Embroidery.
Because it uses mainly the chain stitch, it’s easy enough for kids to do? I started teaching my son when he was 5. Now he’s 7 1/2. He’s got all the boys in his class doing embroidery. Their eyes light up when they talk about their projects. When you get boys before the age of 12, there is not a stigma about learning needlework. It’s good for their hand-eye coordination, and they learn about African culture at the same time – tribes, traditions, customs.
LEARN EMBROIDERY
Classes will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday and April 28 at Ruth’s Stitchery, 4440 Austin Bluff Parkway, Colorado Springs. Registration required: 719-591-1717.
