Just like Christmas!

Today was the great unwrapping day! 

Half a dozen of us spent several hours opening all the parcels, finding out exactly what we had, photographing and cataloguing it and then putting it safely away again until we are ready to display it.

Most of the sculptures were padded with masses of shredded paper and then well wrapped up in heavy black plastic.  A few were just packaged in layers of newspaper.  Either way, unwrapping produced a huge amount of waste paper which we bagged up for recycling.

Once all the wraps were off, what we had was an amazing range of art, from tiny carved birds up to three-foot high statues which two of us struggled to carry. 

Animals, fish and human figures of every kind, some realistic, others stylised. 

And all of them unique and beautiful.  As each in turn passed through our makeshift photographic studio (thanks Robyn!) we were struck once again by the talent of the artists back in Zimbabwe who have sent us their work.  

Better than Christmas!