Donkey cart journey inspires artistry
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Sunday June 26, 2022 06:00
From the dusty roads of Toromoja village, the 25-year-old reminisces that he fell in love with the beautiful landscapes and sunsets of nature on her way to the cattle post whilst travelling on a donkey cart during the school holidays.
At the time, Seoseng was just a pupil at Toromoja Primary School. “When the school reopened we were asked to draw what we saw during the holidays, and then I drew a perfect landscape capturing the environment and animals we saw on our way to the cattle post. That drawing on its own of a nine-year-old me has somehow contributed to the passion I have for art.
My class teacher was also impressed and encouraged me to start practicing even more as the same skills will become handy in future,” explained Seoseng. The talented artist told Art & Culture that generally he was not a very good performing student but during his tenure at school he only performed exceptionally well in his Art subject.
He further said when he was at Rakops Community Junior Secondary School from 2011-2013, he chose Art as his optional subject and passed with flying colours. The fine artist also proved to be a brilliant Art student at Letlhakane Senior School by meeting all the requirements of the BGCSE Art and Design Syllabus package and managed to get first class (A*).
He shared that his primary school days' donkey cart journey has proved to be manna from heaven as he is using the same art skills he discovered a decade ago to better his livelihood.
He added: “Who will ever think that the moment I had over 15 years ago has inspired me to sharpen my art skills and become the dreamer I am today?” The sky is the limit for the Toromoja dreamer as he still wants to go to college in pursuit of his passion.
Born and raised in an extended family, the talented visual artist, Seoseng said that when growing up due to his family financial status he learnt that he could use his artistic skills to sustain a living. “After finishing my senior school I had to remain home because I didn’t meet the government cut-off points whilst some of my fellow colleagues left for their tertiary hence I had to find a way to provide for myself,” said Seoseng.
After thinking hard, he started reminiscing on his artistry journey at school and started putting more effort on practising all the skills he gained as the saying goes ‘Practice makes it perfect’. When his skills were perfected, the young artist had to work hard all night and day by doing some freelance jobs on murals, painting, and drawing for commercial and personal portraits to make a living.
The art business was blossoming for Seoseng and saved some of his profits. He shared with this publication that he has given himself four years to have saved enough for college self-sponsorship.
He stated that he has never set foot on any tertiary school to further his studies hence spending sleepless nights to save some money. The visual artist would like to enroll at any college of education which teaches Art so that further he could get a permanent teaching job and fend for his family. He added: “I am a step ahead to achieving my dreams because already I have volunteered as an Art lab assistant at Letlhakane Senior Secondary School. Most of the students I have assisted in the past have passed the creative subject with flying colours.” Seoseng indicated that he enjoys giving back to the community by sharing his arts skills to both the young and old through his unique teaching style.
He shared that he is doing so more especially to the younger generation. They understand that they can play a role in bettering their lifestyle during these tough economic times. Even now he stated that he is still assisting those who have passion in art because he believes ‘art changes people and people change the world’.
Those are the words of his favourite artist, Vincent Van Gogh, who is a post-impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history around 1850.