1. text genevieve putter
f all local artistic and design diligences
had an organising body such as Ceramics
Southern Africa (Ceramics SA), then Cape
Town’s legacy as World Design Capital 2014
would be safely secured in our hearts and
minds for years to come. So too would its
impact on the global design community.
This year’s inaugural Ceramics Month,
entitled From African Earth: A Celebration
of Ceramics, features a host of exhibitions,
events, and studio visits. According to
Ralph Johnson (pictured is his Blue Bowl),
chairman of Ceramics SA Western Cape, the
intention is ‘to reify November as Ceramics
Month on the international and local design
calendars as belonging to Cape Town’. Here,
we give you 10 reasons we’re excited and why
you should, well, get your hands dirty.
IFor the month of November,
members of the Western
Cape ceramic community
– under the auspices of
Ceramics SA – have joined
forces to present a month-
long ceramics showcase,
an official World Design
Capital event (#WDC577).
photographs:scottallen/ashevillecarolina/usa,GregCox,StephenCruickshank,Davidwestwood/aldershot/uk,supplied
CLAY
TIME
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2. 1
World-renowned, Kenyan-born
British potter and academic
Magdalene Odundo, known for her
sensually shaped vessels that are
inspired by traditional techniques,
will be hosting a workshop on 15
November at the Groote Schuur
High School Nassau Theatre.
How do you keep your work fresh
and contemporary? Each piece
I have made over the years has been
individual, however every body of
work made echoes and acknowledges
the history of the immediate past and
present. Every birth is new, fresh and
contemporary yet a manifestation of
the ancestral past and present.
What excites you about mentoring
up-and-coming ceramicists and
academics? Teaching provides me
with a platform to think through
my own ideas and to learn from
exchanging knowledge with students
and colleagues. That knowledge,
it’s hoped, enhances my status
of knowingness and of being.
The companionship nourishes the
mind and spirit and reinforces the
‘ubuntu-ness’ in me. To book a place
email ralphjinclay@telkomsa.net.
Q&A
magdalene
odundo
2 pot-luck guarantee one of the most anticipated
events is The bi-annual Potters Market at Rondebosch
Park on 22 Nov. there’ll be about 100 stalls – the most
in the market’s 40-year history – with Well-known
potters, such as clementina van der walt (whose work
is pictured), and some new kids on the crock. 021-715-5531
4 go on, give it a squeeze!
As an official WDC project (#WDC411), Ukusela eKapa – Xhosa for ‘drink Cape
Town in’ – is an initiative conceptualised by ceramist Hennie Meyer and architect
Janine de Waal.
The ikomityi (drinking vessel) has been elevated to a desirable object that connects
people from across Cape Town. Since the start of WDC 2014, 10 000 members of
the public imprinted their handshake onto a soft vessel by gently squeezing it. In
return they have each received a key ring that will give them access to the project’s
culmination on 23 November at the Castle of Good Hope, when land artist Strijdom
van der Merwe will create an installation using all of the vessels. ukuselaekapa.co.za
Iziko Museums will be holding an
exhibition entitled From African Earth:
Celebrating our African Clay Vessel
Heritage (13 Nov–31 Jan 2015, Slave Lodge),
featuring pieces from Iziko’s collection as well as
those by members of Ceramics SA. iziko.org.za
3
5
best of the best
The 2014 Corobrik National Ceramics
Exhibition, held every two years, is
arguably the pièce de résistance in
Ceramics SA’s programme. This year
the venue is the Great Cellar at Alphen
Estate in Constantia from 16 November
to 6 December, where the submitted
work of members of Ceramics SA will be
judged by visiting British icon Magdalene
Odundo. Winners from the 2012 show
include Delphine Niez (whose work is
pictured), Katherine Glenday and David
Walters, who, alongside this exhibit, is
spearheading a show entitled the David
Walters and Friends Legacy Exhibition –
in memory to his late friend, potter and
academic Juliet Armstrong.
ceramics-sa-cape.co.za
Visit houseandleisure.co.za for videos,
wins and updates during Ceramics Month.
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stories from
the kiln
The Open Studios programme
features around 30 participating
ceramics studios all over the Western
Cape, where, by appointment, the
public can witness first hand some
of SA’s well-known and on-the-up
ceramicists’ work processes and
methods. Idyllic locations include
the ‘almost’ on-the-beach studio
of John the Potter in Betty’s Bay,
the enchanted Art in the Forest in
Constantia (pictured), and Lisa Firer’s
urban-industrial space in Woodstock.
This is your opportunity to discover
what the terms ‘throwing’, ‘crazing’
and ‘blunging’* mean in the context
of clay. Find the Open Studios map at
ceramics-sa-cape.co.za.
fragments of
interest
Ceramics is the term used for objects
made of fired clay, derived from
the Greek word, keramos, meaning
‘potter’s earth’.
Anglo-Oriental pottery is defined
as high-temperature reduction-
fired utilitarian ware that has been
wheel-thrown, with an emphasis on
understated but quality form, subtle
glazing and minimal decoration.
*Talking the talk of potters is an
exercise in a whole new alchemical
and charmed vocabulary. These are
some of our favourites:
Throw (verb) – the act of shaping clay
on a potter’s wheel.
Craze (verb) – to create a network
of cracks by shrinking glaze on a pot
or ornament.
Blunge (verb) – the process of
vigorously mixing clay with water
and a blunger.
Flocculate (verb) – the method of
aggregating glaze.
Sgraffito (noun) – a technique
whereby the top layer of glaze is
drawn through revealing the under
layer of clay.
Q&A
david
walters
The enigmatic David Walters has
his fingers on many wheels during
Ceramics Month. As the founder of
the Ceramic Gallery in Franschhoek
and subsequently the winelands
town’s Art in Clay Festival – on until
24 November – he tells us about the
festival and why we should all be
enthusiastic about SA’s ceramic art.
How did the Art in Clay Festival
come about? We have about seven
first-class art galleries in and around
the Franschhoek village, and they all
stock ceramics to some degree. For
the month of November each gallery
invites their own artists to show their
work. This results in a fascinating
meander around the various shows,
with stops for food and wine along the
way, while everbody has the chance to
buy affordable pottery.
What excites you about South
African ceramics and pottery? South
Africans have an earthy and direct
approach to art, and they are not
afraid, as many people are elsewhere,
to respond to what they like. They like
ceramics – their grounded, functional
beauty appeals to the practical nature
of our busy nation.
davidwalters.co.za
7
8 Forest folk
Acclaimed ceramic artist Charmaine Haines’
first solo exhibition, Fishtales, Women and
Birdsong, opens on 8 November in Cape Town’s
Art in the Forest, and is an amalgamation
of sculptural and functional pieces.
artintheforest.com
The Rust-En-Vrede Gallery and Clay
Museum in Durbanville will host
a multifaceted, month-long exhibit
entitled Anglo-Orientalism, Connecting Past to
Present from 11 November. rust-en-vrede.com
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craft with heart
Zizamele Ceramics at Imhoff Farm in
Kommetjie was started by Toni Burton as a
job-creation project and is now a thriving
ceramic studio. The Zizamele Ceramics
Emerging Artist Exhibition, from 8–30 Nov,
will feature the work of potters who’ve up
until now never had the opportunity to
showcase their talent. zizamele.co.za
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