A gifted sculptor on the right path
A youngster with no job turned to his true talent, sculpting, to make a living.
A talented youngster with artistic hands said instead of turning to illicit means of earning a living, he turned to his true talent to survive and hopefully set an example.
The 20-year-old David Nyathi admitted that immediately after completing school he needed a job. He said his future looked bleak and uncertain, especially because he had no means to study further, although he realised he was gifted with hands that could do wonders.
Thank God I still had something up my sleeve. I’ve always liked to draw but I had to find a way to bring my talent to life. That’s when I thought of sculpturing my drawings,” David explained.
Explaining the intricacies of this art, David said depending on what figure he’s working on, the process could take from three days for smaller objects, to up to three weeks for some of the bigger ones – working an average of eight hours a day.
“I only use zinc sheets and pieces of wire, but first I make sure that I get my drawings right, because that’s what I work from. This will then be followed by the skeletal structures and finally covering the main body with the sheet. It’s important to get your sketches right to get the sculpture right, because you’re emulating the real thing.”
He further said it was only four year ago that he started working on what his father Michael Nyathi, started, by making the figures bigger than real life ones to make them more appealing.
We use a specific material that we buy because any metal sheet wouldn’t work, and also it would last that long; there’s so much more work involved than you can imagine. The process can be slow especially if you have to refine or accentuate certain details of your figure, which can be a challenge, but very rewarding when it’s completed,” David said.
Among what he has done so far are horses, kudus, human figures, flowers, fish and other decorative ornaments – but it’s not to imply that those are all he is able to make. David claimed that there were so much more he could create with his hands.
“The other reason I’m doing this is because I want to show young people that it’s not only by going to school that one can survive; there are other ways they can use their talents to make a living without resorting to crime,” David added.
