Art Chowder September | October 2016, Issue 5 | Page 18

Sironka
Nicolas

_

Karen Mobley _

ba·tik
bəˈtēk/
noun

a technique that involves a wax resist dyeing
process on cloth.

When you meet Sironka, the first thing you no-

tice is his bright smile and intense gaze. He is a tall
man who resembles the traditional Maasai people
represented in many of his batiks. He often wears
his native attire with its bright beadwork and colorful fabrics to his exhibitions and lectures. His
batiks often show the men, women and children
of the Maasai culture of Kenya and Tanzania. The
batiks are displayed with captions and short stories
that tell about the lives of the people. The batiks
are rich in reds, golds, and rich browns. The Maasai are a semi-nomadic group of “pasturalists” who
live from the land and have a strong relationship to
the creatures on the land including the cattle they
herd. Sironka conveys not only the traditions, but
the values of the Maasai – respect for elders as the
“pillars of wisdom”, love and care for family and livestock, and respect for others differences. Sironka
tells the stories and talks about how we can “nourish one another with words.” Many of the images
are of mothers, grandmothers, and elders.
Sironka initially came to Spokane on a Fullbright
Grant, which funded a visit to Whitworth University as a guest artist and cultural speaker. He recently returned to Spokane from a short stint in Seattle. Sironka sells his batiks, teaches workshops
and classes at the Hatch Creative Incubator and
also as a guest artist in schools, universities and
community organizations. He has a broad background and can teach students about the Maasai
culture of his native country, Kenya, and about batik which is his preferred art media. Sironka is a
fine storyteller and a compelling speaker.
18 ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE