While the Nshakazhogwe-born artist says art was never even a subject she had ever imagined she would entertain in her life, the art sector is indebted to her husband Moses, for literally unearthing a gem for their ‘kraal’.
It seems Maaramele’s marriage to veteran visual artist, Moses who had earned his name in the trade as one of the best turned out to be a match made in heaven. Maaramele’s journey as an artist is not that long as it dates back to 2016.
But it is a journey that has been worth traveling and fulfilling. It is even hard to believe that the talented artist had her first encounter with the brush and paint barely six years ago. Before that, she had never held a brush in her hand let alone attempted to sketch anything on a sketch pad.
Before that, she would often just watch her husband busy with his artwork unaware that she would one day turn out to be on the same path. However, one of the days in 2016, her husband decided to change that in an instant.
A trained teacher, Moses handheld her wife and showed his wife the ropes. He became her wife’s teacher and mentor and bought her materials as he introduced her to contemporary art. Having started drawing on a sketch pad, she transitioned to canvass in 2017. “I did not go to school to learn this but was taught by my husband, who also does the same form of art.
He literally handheld me and mentored me to become the artist that I am today. I had never drawn anything, but he took me through every step to introducing me to canvass. He would later on introduce me to Thapong Visual Arts Centre where I’m currently based.
That’s how things started to shape up for me in the art world,” she said.
The artist also stated that out of nowhere, her first piece, bad as she thought it was, was immediately snatched up by a customer from the United Kingdom. “I was surprised because I felt it was a very badly done art piece, but that customer said she was just blown away by the creativity,” she added. That was the beginning of big things, as her next two paintings also attracted international customers as they were bought by customers from Finland and Sweden respectively.
She said locally, he regular clients would turn out to be the Office of the President and the Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture (MYSC). Maaramele said her habitation at Thapong Visual Arts Centre has also been a blessing in disguise.
She stated that it has helped her go fulltime into art and explore her creative imagination freely, assisted by the director Reginald Bakwena and her deputy Elsi Bathambudzi.
She said the place has also exposed her to the market and allowed her to partake in exhibitions. Maaramele also mentioned Monica Selelo, an officer at the MYGSC amongst those that have contributed positively to her growth as an artist.
Despite being a self-taught artist, Maaramele believes the sky is the limit after she recently conquered all to become a national champion during the National Arts Festival competitions.
She won the top prize for Best in Painting, as first-time participant. While she credits her husband for unearthing the hidden talent in her, Maaramele is ready to emerge out of his wings to carve her name in the art world and also be counted among the best.
