—John Milton (1608-1674)

Harare, Zimbabwe

I feel privileged to call Saki Mafundikwa my friend. I’d like to introduce him and his current initiative with ZIVA to those of you who visit my blog.

Saki is a typographer, graphic designer, photographer, filmmaker, author of Afrikan Alphabets (the first book on Afrikan typography), a recent TED presenter (great talk!) and yes, an old-school farmer. After a long sojourn through the world of design and media in the United States, Saki returned to his native country where, amidst social and political upheavals, he managed to found and recently expand ZIVA into a program that galvanizes intrinsic design values.

ZIVA has recently started an Indeigogo campaign with a fundraising goal of USD $100,000. These funds will be allocated to changing HP laptops to powerful desktop computers, changing Photoshop CS2 to the most current Adobe Suite software, updating technical design manuals to the latest on the market, to expanding faculty, and last but definitely not least, to providing full scholarships to deserving and talented young designers.

How can you help? Please share the campaign link (or this post) and/or consider donating to this worthwhile cause. Saki and I both “thank you in advance…” from the bottom of our hearts.

Boston, Massachusetts, 1828

I came across an image of this exquisite miniature yesterday (6.7 cm x 8 cm, watercolour on ivory), and was intrigued to find out about its origin.

Painted as a self-portrait by Sarah Goodridge and given to statesman Daniel Webster after his wife died (Webster sat as a model for Sarah twelve times over two decades), it presents a provocative twist on the “traditional lover’s eye miniatures so popular in London” at the time. I know it would have gotten my attention…

Below is another watercolour-on-ivory self-portrait miniature done by Sarah (who never did marry) two years later, in 1830 (10.2 cm x 7.6 cm).

(Click on image for higher resolution. Feel free to use or share).

—Rumi

—Harry Winston (1896-1978)

—Albert Camus

—Bob Dylan

—Swedish proverb

—John Cage (1912-1992)