Travel Days Series - Narok Kenya

The second lesson in our Travel Days Series and our next destination is inspired by Narok, Kenya and the women of the Maasai Mara. For this lesson, we will be working with two simple tools that you can easily use in your studio or on the go when you are traveling - our journal and colored pencils. I have selected three colors for this drawing but you can always stick with a monochromatic palette as well.

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ABOUT THE MAASAI MARA WOMEN

The Maasai Mara tribe is located in Kenya and Tanzania. Both men and women have distinguished roles in the community. The women take on many jobs including gathering water, wood for fire, tending to the home and land, taking care of their children, and upholding traditions just to name a few. The tribe is known for its distinct attire adorned with elaborately beaded jewelry that represent not only beauty but tradition and status within the culture. More recently, beading has become a way of livelihood for the tribes. Once surviving solely on livestock for income, now with recent changes due to drought the tribes have looked to beading as a source of income.

When I found this photograph on Unsplash, I really wanted to accentuate the great detail of the beading connecting the importance in the tribe's traditions. I used a combination of mark making and contrasting colors to represent the elaborate detailing. To learn more, watch our video below.