Take a long walk in Zoleka Mandela’s hand-painted sneakers

Zoleka Mandela is channelling her grief over the loss of her mother Zindzi onto canvas – sneakers that is.

The granddaughter of late statesman Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela refused to turn to her old vices such as drugs and alcohol as her coping mechanisms.

Instead Zoleka’s search for catharsis has resulted in her hand-painting canvas sneakers, which has quickly bloomed into a business opportunity as orders pour in thanks to her social media shoes stories.

The mother of five, who was left devastated by the sudden death of her mother in July, but did not respond to queries.

However she has spoken openly about her grief and her newfound comfort on Instagram.

“Having celebrated my 10th year of sobriety this year, I’ve learnt a few things about myself ... how (in the past) I’ve always resorted to the avoidance of emotional pain (as a coping mechanism) by abusing alcohol, drugs and sex.

“Anything to escape the turmoil. Over the years, I’ve found more healthier ways to channel my pain ... this year, after my mother’s passing, I started hand-painting canvas shoes.”

From tiny canvas sneakers bearing characters such as Peppa Pig and SpongeBob, to the adult range that includes gay pride colours, Minnie Mouse and the Lesotho flag, her creations have been warmly received by her thousands of followers, many of whom have placed orders with her.

Zoleka, who has written about her addictions, the loss of her daughter and her battling cancer twice, spoke candidly about her pain, and quoted US pastor and songwriter Steven Furtick in one of her posts.

“The place of your pain will become the place of your power.”

“My pain has awakened something in me. This pain may never dissipate, but how truly grateful I am that I can take a paintbrush to a shoe ... to paint, to heal. That seems powerful.”

Her tiny dining room area serves as her “makeshift” art studio.

She said she was “quite scared and overwhelmed with the orders because I’m one man, but this is freaking amazing!

“I posted a few of my hand-painted shoes a few weeks ago, and now I have so many people wanting to actually buy them from me ... me, Zoleka Mandela.

“I just need to figure out this new project of mine ... delivery costs, hashtags for social media, cost of labour, target market, packaging, potential partnerships, marketing plan …”

Her shoes have received high praise from her followers.

One wrote: “Zoleka, these are really stunning. I started my business from a place of pain. I started crafting as a way to overcome depression and today crafting has become the love of my life and I’m making money through it. Keep on pushing mama you are an inspiration …”

Mental health experts believe artistic pursuits can be healing.

Psychologist Rakhi Beekrum said artistic expression of grief could help make sense of one’s emotions and feel connected to the loved one who has died.

“Art can facilitate closure or help find meaning after a loss.”

Another psychologist, Dr Ingrid Artus, said art and creative activities could be therapeutic because it facilitated mindfulness.

“Mindfulness is the process of being present in the moment of now and is a skill regularly taught in therapy to assist clients struggling with a variety of mental health issues that cause dysregulation.

“Focusing on a creative task at hand allows a person to connect with real and tangible objects so that the primary senses become activated as part of a pleasant experience. This helps the autonomic aspect of the central nervous system to calm down, which is typically the goal of therapy,” said Artus.