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Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
A 14-YEAR-OLD girl from Hwange whose drawing talent has caught the attention of many, believes she has what it takes to change the face of fine art if given the opportunity and rightful support.

In most cases, parents do not support their children who show a desire to specialise in any form of art in school, especially girls.

But Nicole Gorerino, a Form Two pupil at Loreto Mission in Gweru whose drawing talent is inborn, is fortunate as she has a very supportive parent, her mother Loretta Gorerino, who is a teacher in Kwekwe.

“I started drawing when I was in Grade Seven as I’d just draw pictures which I’d extract from textbooks. Right now, I get inspiration for some of my drawings from books and You Tube.

“So far, I’ve drawn the map of Africa, people’s images and birds and people love my drawings such that some come and ask me to draw their images,” said Nicole. However, she fears her talent might remain a hobby as she is not even in the art class at school.

“I love the talent I have in drawing and I’d want to use it professionally. The problem I have is that I’m not doing art as a subject at school as my class has Fashion and Fabrics. I’d want to specialise in art and be a professional female fine artist, but there’s no provision for me so far, hence I fear it might end up being just a hobby,” said Nicole.

She said drawing is her way of relieving stress as she usually gets down to it when she is bored or idle.

Interestingly, she said she is yet to decide on what profession to pursue besides fine art.

Her mother had the same concerns as Nicole.

“So far, she hasn’t gotten assistance and this talent might just go to waste. Probably, she’ll learn it in school. This is something that she loves and I’m there to support her.”

Fine art is a well-paying job especially in resort places like Victoria Falls where tourists buy drawings and images as souvenirs. Skills development is now a component of the schools’ competence-based learning syllabus and what is needed is to classify learners according to their skills and talents. -@ncubeleon