“My passion for Bloem mainly stands from the fact that it is my home and I live here. I am a firm believer that the grass is green where you water it and I find great satisfaction in hopefully leaving a lifetime legacy in my hometown.”
Liesel Wessels is a professional artist from Bloemfontein who has a true passion for her hometown. So much so that she started an initiative called Future Bloemfontein.
The idea was sparked by a BBC documentary about waste removal, “which is the strong motive behind our campaign, to change the way we do refuse removal in Bloemfontein. We hope that Bloem will become a waste-free city, and our current landfills will become obsolete and be replaced with recycling factories,” she says.
Future Bloemfontein started the community mural project in Montgomery Street, Gardenia Park, and we hope to expand the public street art project to cover many more “ugly” walls in the city.
Liesel says they have a few upcoming projects that they hope to tackle. These include adopting a traffic circle project, which will start at the circle in Gluckman Street; a new community mural project under the bridge at the UFS; an annual sidewalk and shopfront competition, and a community sculpture or art garden project.
Moving on to her life as an artist, Liesel says she has always wanted to be an artist. She did a B.A. in Fine Arts at the University of the Free State. After her studies, she worked for a year in an art shop, while teaching fine art and craft classes.
“Thereafter, I got a job as a graphic designer, as I had some skills in CorelDraw and Photoshop. Today, I am extremely thankful for this as it has taught me invaluable lessons in social media, website design, and other skills that are necessary for an art career.”
She currently still works half-day as a graphic designer, but she has more free time to pursue her art career – “which I hope to do full-time very soon”. She does portrait commissions for clients all over South Africa and overseas, “and I also love creating functional ceramics. I give fine art lessons at my academy for ages from 6+, as well as various workshops throughout the year”.
A quote by Queen Victoria that reads “Beware of artists, they mix with all classes of society and are therefore most dangerous”, is something she resonates with. It is the one part of her art career that she absolutely loves – “the fact that I can reach almost anyone, whether it is a homeless man or the most ‘important’ in our society”.
“Meeting people has always made an impact on my life, some not so fun – but mostly good.”
What motivates and drives Liesel daily is the goal of being financially free, “so that I can pursue a creative and art-filled life on a full-time basis without stressing about paying bills”.
When she’s not in her studio she is spending time with her hubby and best friend, going for a coffee at Royal Roastery or The Food Co., or shopping with her friend and fellow artist, Doret Bonthuys. She also enjoys hiking at Seven Dams and Brandkop. “This is when I get to sit still and admire nature. This is also where I feel the closest to God and experience peace. Then, of course, any form of massage or beauty treatment – I am a real girly girl.”
TEXT: Justine Fortuin PHOTOGRAPH: Gypseenia Lion
