PowerHouseCreatives Contest | My Gift to you - From a Seed to a Sculpture

I started life as a weird looking little seed in the sub-tropical Bushveld of Southern Africa.
Many of the other seeds that laid beside me in the shade of the woodland would tease me, saying I looked like a brown papery fried egg!

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I however hail from a proud family called Fabaceae; our bloodline has a real fancy Latin name Pterocarpus angolensis, but we have all adopted common names like Kiaat, Bloodwood, Paddle-wood, Sealing-wax tree, Wild Teak or Transvaal Teak. My family name simply is Kiaat.

Mother said I would become sought after one day as craftsmen would turn me into beautiful items that people would pay dearly for – cabinets, lamps, tables, chairs, bowls and boxes that would house priceless diamonds and gold jewelry; they would even make paper from me.

My mother was right as always, but I went through a great deal of suffering before her words became true.
I was not a happy little seed chappie when the winds separated me from my mother who towered over me.
She used to tell me not to let anyone bully me so I simply ignored those nasty bullies and made new friends and they left me alone.
I always remembered her words saying that I would also grow into a beautiful resilient tree just like her and that my time to shine would come, but it would take a long time so I had to learn to be patient.

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As I laid on the ground in that woodland I started shriveling and got covered by soil; it was really frightening as everything around me grew dark.
But I gathered my strength and remembered what my mother had said, and when the rains came down, I found myself almost blinded by the sunlight as I peered out at a whole new world.

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I could now see more as I grew taller each day.

Many years passed and finally the day came that it was my turn to proudly tower over all the other trees in the woodland.
I knew it was time for my transformation when the loggers came along saying I was a real beaut and would fetch them a good price.
I must say that journey was very painful and scary especially falling from that height and being cut into pieces, but I knew this was my lot and I would indeed become a sought after item.

It was almost time for my final destination.

I was bought by a carpenter who just like my mother said turned me into furniture and decor pieces that beautified many homes.
The leftover pulp was sold and would be turned into paper that would travel all over the world.

But there was one little piece of me that fell beside the wayside, no one wanted me and they tossed me into the river.

The rains came down and I was washed downstream; that was one terrifying ride, but I remembered what Mother had said, ‘Be brave my child, none of your suffering will be for nothing’.

I must have passed out but woke up with a jolt as I hit my head against a massive log. I heard the waves crashing in front of me and realized I almost got washed into the big ocean!

I laid on the sand at the mouth of the big river for what seemed like an eternity, till a man and woman came along. The man excitedly picked me up and lovingly stroked me and said to his wife that he was taking me home. He told a passerby that he was a sculptor; I did not know what that meant.

I was quite apprehensive as I didn’t know what he was planning but heard him say that I remind him of a mother and child; that really puzzled me!

He drew sketches before he started carving away at me with a chisel; it was painful but I knew this man was turning me into something really special and for that to happen, I had to endure the pain.
But the man was gentle, stroking me as if to say he’s sorry that he had to hurt me, but I knew this painful process was part of my growth.
He chiseled away gently with his carving tools and sometimes had to use a very noisy machine, but always stroked me gently afterwards. He finally rubbed me with coarse paper till I became smooth and glossy.

The sculptor of Mother and Child, Peter Wink, doing what he does best and that is producing beautiful sculptures in his studio in Waterfall, Kwazulu Natal.

The day came that his work was done and he called his wife in to have a look at what he made; I was a beautiful sculpture that he called ‘Mother and Child’.
My heartbeat quickened as I envisaged being reunited with my mother!

The man gave me to very special friends as a Christmas gift and they were overjoyed at this wondrous work of art.

Mother and I now stand proudly on a beautiful hall stand at the entrance of our new home and all the visitors admire us as they enter.

Just like the sculptor created this beautiful artwork
that he so generously gave to us as a gift;
each one of us is chiseled away by God,
changing us into something unique and beautiful.

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This has been my contribution to
PowerHouseCreatives Contest | My Gift To You

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Original Content by @lizelle

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