Art objects are interwoven with
daily life in Africa in ways quite different from much Western art. Frequently,
the forms and surfaces of every day utilitarian household and personal objects,
such as vessels and stools, are embellished with an array of striking designs.
African people employ a large variety of materials to make their utensils.
Gourds and other raw materials such as grasses, reeds, sedges, and creepers are
most often used for vessels. Gourd and basketry containers generally are more
prevalent than ceramic ones, which are heavier and more fragile. The gourd has
four main shapes; globular, flattened, bottle-shaped, and tubular. The variety
of shaped makes them very practical for utility. The hollowed-out shell of the
symmetrical gourd has a critical function for the African people. Since it is
inexpensive, durable, light and portable, it is suitable for transporting,
storing and serving food stuffs and liquids. Other uses include protective
bonnets for children, fishing floats, seed-drills, henna baths and smoking
pipes, etc. Gourds and calabashes are embellished using three types of
decorative techniques: pyro-engraving, (poker work), pressure-engraving,
(including scraping), and carving. In pyro-hyphen engraving, a heated leaf
shaped blade is used to draw a design in the gourd while it is rotated.
Different color and texture effects are achieved by a 'rocking' technique or by
'scorching'.
