By Yolanda du Toit
Lidi de Waal’s art and poems are like Tweedle dee and Tweedle dum. She uses the two mediums to give life to her thoughts. This versatile artist has a few books under her belt and the latest is named Sonsoeker.
She grew up on a farm between Fraserburg and Beaufort West-Wes and studied to be a teacher after school. “For eight years I was a teacher. I bought a pottery oven and clay and taught myself. Eventually, I had a factory with seventeen women. Most of the sculptures were exported.” She says after her divorce she focussed more on art than craft. Hennie Niemann Snr taught her to paint and two years ago she again started making sculptures.
“Painting is a more manageable medium. Working with clay is a long process and you never know what the end result will be. But I love working with this medium.” Lidi says as an artist you need new references and luckily today there are thousands of images and information online, especially on Pinterest to inspire you. “I tend to save it, and this allows me to be open to new ideas and gives my art versatility. You don’t have to repeat what you see; you give it your own to be a unique work of art.”
Strange as it might seem, Lidi only started writing after her 50th birthday. She had a love for words but never recognised it as a talent so didn’t pay attention to it. Today she is widely known for her artwork, and creative and heartfelt way of writing. “About a decade ago I started writing and found it very therapeutic. Today, it is part of my way of expressing myself, words, interwoven together with my paintings and sculptures. My soul is really woven into every masterpiece I create.”
Sonsoeker is her eighth book. Her previous book, Miaau, is about her cats. She loves painting her cats, although she has a dog too, Lyla, her best friend. “Cats to me is the living image of beauty and their purr, the prettiest sound ever. I simply love seeing them sleeping and being at peace. Animals magnify my spirit.”
In 2024 Lidi traded the mountains of the Klein Karoo for the sea in Hermanus
Her wish and legacy are to occupy a place rent-free in everyone’s heart and home.
Visit her website, https://www.lididewaal.co.za for her artworks, books, and other merchandise such as coasters and sculptures.
The post Lidi’s expressive art – By Yolanda du Toit appeared first on The Home Of Great South African News.
Lidi de Waal’s art and poems are like Tweedle dee and Tweedle dum. She uses the two mediums to give life to her thoughts.
The post Lidi’s expressive art – By Yolanda du Toit appeared first on The Home Of Great South African News. Read More
