Challenge of Music Reveal!

It's here! The day has arrived for the Challenge of Music Reveal put on by Erin at Tesori Trovati or Treasures-found.blogspot.com. This challenge was all about letting the music move you to design or create or draw or in some way allow your artistic talent to flow.

To begin with I went to Pandora to listen to instrumental music, but nothing I heard really moved me. So next I dug through all my CD's. I found a CD that was a gift from a friend from South Africa back in 2009. The music is in the Xhosa (pronounced Cosa) language. It is one of the national languages of South Africa. While many in South Africa speak Africaans, Xhosa is a beautiful tonal language of clicks. There are five different types of clicks, each unique, which indicate vowels or consonants.

For an example of this very interesting language, go to this link, Xhosa. 

Now imagine hearing this in music. It is extremely interesting and beautiful. Something unique to hear.

As I listened to the music, I thought about our experiences in South Africa; the people we met, the places we went, the countryside & animals we saw. The singing has rises and falls with a variety of clicking. It brings to mind a variety of emotions; sadness, happiness, joy, and peace. All of these emotions were depicted in the land and people we saw.

This was the beautiful countryside at the game preserve where we stayed for a week north of Johannesburg in Mabula. We went on many game drives to take pictures. One day we were able to ride horseback through many acres and get close-up and personal with the wild animals. It was exciting and exhilarating!

There were many animals on this game preserve that in the U.S. we only see in zoos; such as, rhinoceros, hippos, zebras, elephants, giraffes, monkeys, warthogs, snakes, etc.. We had to keep the windows closed or the monkeys would come inside & get into everything, including the food. Also we didn't want the snakes to come inside either! The snakes there are ALL poisonous! We were happy the lions were in another area separate from the people and other animals.

These lions were at a different game preserve in Krugersdorp further south. We were able to watch this pride feed on a cow from one of the local farmers. We were in a small 4 door VW Golf car. The lions were as long as the car & almost as big. Needless to say, we stayed IN THE CAR! with the windows UP! But we were able to take many pictures from about 50 feet away. At one point, the male lion walked by our car & if we had put our hand out the window we could have touched him. However, we weren't that stupid!

Later we traveled further south to the Southern Cape, where we saw Right Sided Whales, Sharks, Great Whites, Penguins, Seals, Walrus, and other animals. This is a picture of Seal Island. It was beautiful! The water was so clear! The whales were as big as our boat but friendly. The sharks had no interest in the people swimming in the water, which we found very interesting! They feed only on the baby seals. :( It was baby season & we saw lots of babies! They were so cute. :)

Another area we visited was in Capetown. This was an area just outside of the city. On the one side is the mountains and on the other side of the city is the ocean. So diverse and so beautiful!

The people in South Africa are also diverse. Due to the political controversies and wars in neighboring countries, many people have been displaced to this country. There were immigrants from Angola, Cameroon, Malawi, Burundi, and more. 

We were in South Africa for 3 weeks. It was not long enough to see it all, but we thoroughly enjoyed our trip and would love to return.

My Challenge Project

I used copper wire, jade, blue multifaceted iridescent crystals, a variety of copper beads and iolite. All of these reminded me of the vibrant colors in South Africa of the land, the sky, the animals and the people. I also tried to depict the starts and stops (clicking) of the Xhosa language in the joining of the beads & elements. The focal is a round lapis piece. In South Africa, the people believe life on earth began there. So the circle is to represent the circle of life, in honor of their beliefs.

Here are the participants in this wonderful Musical Challenge by Erin! She is an inspiration to many & I hope you enjoy "hopping" from one blog to another to see how each was "inspired by the music". I know I will!

The Challenge of Music participants

Erin Prais-Hintz
Alenka Obid
Ali McCarthy
Alicia Marinache
Amy Severino
Amy Grass
Carolyn Lawson
Cece Cormier
Cynthia Riggs
 Ema Kilroy (bowed out)
Emanda Johnson
 Emma Todd
Erin Kenny
Evelyn Shelby
Evie and Beth McCord
 Gerd Andersson
Holly Westfall
 Jennifer Justman
 Jenny Davies-Reazor
 Jess Green
Judy Campbell
 Karla Morgan
Kay Thomerson (bowed out)
Kristina Johansson
Lola Surwillo
Lynn White (bowed out)
Malin de Koning
Mallory Hoffman
Mary K McGraw
Melissa Meman (bowed out)
Melissa Trudinger
 Michelle Escano
Michelle Bourbonniere
Michelle Heim (bowed out)
Michelle Mach
 Molly Alexander
Molly Schaller (bowed out)
Monique Urquhart
Niky Sayers
Pam Farren
Rebecca Anderson
 Sally Russick
Sharon Palac (bowed out)
Sharon Driscoll
Susan Kennedy
Tari Kahrs
Tracy Stillman (bowed out)
Veralynne Malone

Erin is already planning other Challenges: May is Literature, August is Travel, and November is Color. These should be interesting, inspiring, and, of course, CHALLENGING! Happy blogging and creating! Hope to see you soon!