Wildlife sculptures that always watch over your garden

Kioko Kisilu shelters under a hedge on Limuru Road at the Redhill junction, chiselling away at fresh wood in his left hand. He is carving a wooden lion.

Two metres away from where he is seated are his displayed works. Across the road are life-size displays of gazelles, lions and monkey mouldings made by his business partner, Philip Kaunda.

Every piece of their artwork attracts the eye. “I have always wanted to be creative to attract customers,” Kaunda says.

Kaunda ventured into carvings and moulding in 2008. “I used to run a power-saw business. People would hire my services whenever they needed a tree to be felled in their compound. I would then buy the logs and sell them for firewood but the venture didn’t fetch me enough money,” he says.

He then came up with the idea of using the logs to make sculptures to supplement his income. He soon paired up with his friend Kioko and the pair set up the roadside business.

Kaunda later went to incorporate moulding into his carving business. He mostly makes animal sculptures and monkeys are easily his favourite subject because then he can get really creative.

Mouldings

He says he recently sold a monkey moulding to a client from Washington in the US. The Canadian Embassy has also bought his work, but he declined to reveal how much he made.

His business depends largely on expatriates but institutions running different campaigns also favour his animal sculptures and other moulding since they are thematic. The pair also makes decorated trees which they hire out to event planners.

Although Kaunda still runs the power-saw business, he says his new artistic venture is much more rewarding financially.

Along the same road is another creative designer, Ayub Ngugi, who makes amazing giraffe, elephant, eagle and warthog sculptures, among other animals. Ngugi uses fibre glass, wood and steel, and his creations are humongous.

“If it’s big and visible, it attracts people from afar especially passers-by,” he explains.

He says his sculptures are ideal for gardens and institutions that want animals which represent the name or company symbols.

“Like for the eagle, someone with a hotel going by the same name can buy and place it at the entrance or garden as their symbol.”

Outdoor weather

He adds that the size of the sculpture depends on how one arranges things in the garden. The sculptures are made to suit the harsh outdoor conditions and are not easily damaged. They are also easy to maintain and can be cleaned occasionally with cold water. 

Ngugi says he can make any animal sculpture as long as he is given enough time. He also makes wood and steel sculptures and “affordable” lampshades. The animal lampshades cost from Sh7,000.

Some sculptures are made on order but most are made and marketed to potential customers, especially those who use that road regularly.

Kioko, Ngugi and Kaunda are just a few of many talented roadside sculptors in Nairobi and its environs. Ngugi also has work stations in three other areas in Nairobi, including along Thika Road.