The Dala Dala bus from Matemwa to Stonetown takes about an hour and can have what seems an infinite number of passengers. We bundled into the back of the bus which expanded with passengers at each stop including a man with a hen in his handbag.
I wanted to take a picture from the inside of the bus but had a feeling that the sight of our camera would scare everyone.
Stonetown is a city that seems to have used every inch of space. The most stunning aspect of many of the buildings is the famous Zanzibarian Door.
The entrance to the ministry of transport through a gap in a congregated iron fence looked very funny but turned out to be one of the most efficient government offices I have ever visited, taking just a few minuets to get a driving permit.
The cultural arts center in Stone Town, run by Hamad, is a nice old airy building it was great to meet some of the Zanzibarian artists who did some great prints despite the plaster plates being still not perfect. I had used a course sand paper to rub the blocks down which caused them to print with a lot of unwanted texture, another visit to the hardware store has unearthed some fine sandpaper. The Cultural Arts Centre’s email is culturalartscentre.z@gmail.com
The PVA was perfect for ceiling the blocks but it was important to thine down the wood glue so it was like thine cream before applying it to the surface. Adding PVA to the plaster of Paris was a disaster and a whole batch of plates got stuck in there sandwich box molds I had brought from the market.
The Stonetown artists really enjoyed monoprinting and did some expressive drawings.
We enjoyed staying in Stonetown and getting lost in the maze of streets then making our way to the sea front to watch the sun go down at The Traveler’s Bar.
Tantalising glimpses of work in progress – more prints please ! Bigger pictures please !
I’ve really enjoyed your posts, it looks like a fabulous experience and you’re getting great prints from your workshops… there’s a lot of talent there. Will you be able to bring any prints home?