Kalk Bay: an artistâ€&#x;s paradise on earth photographic essay by Jenny Altschuler
The Kalk Bay Culture Mile lies on the cusp of the Kalk Bay harbour, fishing-trawler pier and fish market, separated by the booms of the Railway line connecting it to all the points along the route from Simonstown through to central Cape Town. The combination of qualities of European Riviera, classic South African fishing centre, the coastal light and colours creates a unique atmosphere which attracts art lovers to set up Art galleries, fine craft showrooms and performing venues.
On any day one may enter the beguiling faรงade of commercial galleries and restaurants servicing tourists and craft purchasers, but once you scent the trail, you will come across more and more artists and fine crafters who have set up their studios and are working dedicatedly in this inspiring context. All Photographs and Text by Jenny Altschuler
(Top) Every journey to Kalk Bay uncovers a new palette of colours. Each particular weather, time of day, and different season affects the nuances of each colour. At times winter afternoons filter in sultry greys and blues on wet days. In this light one may remember some clarity of detail and social conscience. (Below) The Camel ride: On the way to Ocean View from Fishhoek, one must traverse the No-Manâ€&#x;s territory created by these dislocated camels and their Nigerian caddies. My mind traverses the Arabias, the middle East and then suddenly I am back in the post colonial South Africa.
(Top) Wayne and Lynne live in Muizenberg, they often spend lunch hour in Kalk Bay Harbour. (Below) View from Cathyâ€&#x;s Studio, The False Bay light has inspired many an artist, poet and writer including Molly Townsend and Terence McCaw.
(Top) Kalk Bay Modern: Cheryl Rumbak, gallery owner and curator, aims to showcase local and national fine artists in curated exhibitions, maintain a commercial profile, as well as engage in socially responsible national and international projects. The Gallery sits on top of the famous Olympia Cafe. Above all of this, on the 2nd floor, Chris Bladen, artist sculptor is busy moving in to set up his studio. (Below left) The Olympia Cafe (Below right) Kalk Bay Modern interior
(Top) Kalk Bay Gallery is one of a group of 8 galleries that run under Fine Art Portfolio. Dena Koehorst, the manageress, also owns the ice cream parlour down the road. The gallery showcases Cape and National viable art. Kalk Bay painters, David Bucklow and ex Zimbabwean Kudakwashe Gavi are among the top sellers. (Middle): Fishermen: Toyer Cozyn with his crew The Cozyn family is one of the old fishing families in SA. (Middle right) View from the Kalk Bay harbour. (Below left) Descending down Boyes Drive into Kalk Bay. (Below right) Houses on the bend: Approaching Kalk Bay from Simonstown holds a pleasant surprise at the final corner around the bend.
(Top) Cathy Layzell and Hardlife at the Olympia Bakery (Below) Theresa Jo and her husband CP Wessels iron work at Artvark Gallery
Olympia CafĂŠ and Deli : Although Olympiaâ€&#x;s restaurant is unpretentious with wooden tables and simple furniture, its ambiance of Greek island with kitchen inside the dining space and wonkily hung paintings and photographs by local artists give it its unaffected yet charming character. Put your name on the board and you will get a table as soon as your name is at the top of the list.
(Previous Page-Top left) Katherine at her studio window: Katherine Glenday blows on the leaves at the window. The vibrations caused by her breath excite her as well as the light coming in to the studio at The Forge. She professes to actively include light and sound in her ceramic pieces. Her projects present different resonances transparencies through which light and sound can be held, transmit, resound and be heard, as well as be seen and imagined. Both light and sound are abstract waves that ebb and flow into the world. To make these visible seems to be her mission. (Previous Page-Middle left) Pot instruments: Seven years ago Katherine became aware that the various sizes, shapes and dimensions of the pots made particular sounds, notes on the octaves. She developed this potential and has performed with her pot instruments for almost as many years in different parts of the world and in different environments, from desert landscapes, to city galleries. “I work with porcelain because it is my way of transforming all that feels insufferable in life. It is a way of catching „the light‟ which shines every day – on good and bad. Inhabiting the poetic and imaginal realm and making this visible requires active „dreaming‟, It is my role and holds my prayer for life.” Katherine Glenday. (Previous Page-Bottom right) Charles Fauville attends Katherine Glenday‟s weekly Friday potter‟s classes her studio The Forge. Katherine says that he is not her pupil. They studied sculpture briefly at University in the Eastern Cape at the same time in their late teens. Charles has recently retired from his long time position as instructor in sculpture and general art production at the famous Frank Joubert Art Centre in Newlands. The studio sessions are also open to those who just need space and atmosphere to work. (Previous Page-Bottom right) Seni Senevirane lives in Kalk Bay and attends the Friday potter‟s session at the Forge. A psychotherapist by profession, Seni is sensitive to the personal yet public story, accessing human emotion and psychological frequencies with poetry and acappella in her performance art, in order to move and affect the world. Here Seni gives a taste of what‟s to come on Saturday night at her upcoming performance at The Forge, that will include work from her new collection in progress. (This Page-Above) Friday after the weekly ceramic class: I say, “Take a minute. Relax.” Katherine Glenday has been fussing over the mess in her studio and her lack of preparation for me, the photographer and her sick daughter upstairs in the awesome house with THE view. Katherine seems to need to be organized and then to hide the organization process away and be left with the perfect facade, the divine product. I can‟t fathom what she is talking about? To me it‟s more ordered than any studio I have used. On a daily basis The Forge is tidied away, almost excavated...no trace that it was used; but in this way, the next performer, workshop co-coordinator or musician can arrive and set up in a perfect, clean space.
(Top left): Nic through the tube: Half the work is to construct the tools with which to cast the various pieces that make up each artwork. Many containers and vessels cannot be bought and Nick spends half the time dedicated to creating these himself in order to complete the final products. Smoothing down all sides and being exact is very important. Here nick checks to see that the inside of this casting vessel is smooth all round. (Middle left): Emily Banda places singly cast small parts in appropriate positions. This delicate mission requires great patience, precision and visual sensibility in order to achieve authenticity yet artistic composition. She has learned all she knows from Nick, and being a fast learner, she mimics his style becoming an extension of his artistic realm. She and her husband Gilbert are about to begin building their first home in Malawi from the money they earn assisting in this capacity. Gilbert works in a similar portfolio for Nickâ€&#x;s sculptor brother, Chris, in his studio in Kalk Bay. (Middle right): Chris and Gilly with Elephant: Gilbert assists Chris on all his sculptures. Their relationship is strong and Chris admits that he will find it a strain without Gilly over the months he is away back home in Malawi taking time to build his new home for Emily, the baby and himself. Gilly makes small cast animals himself mimicking the technique that Chrisâ€&#x;s dad in his craft tourist business, as they were growing up. Nick and Chris both studied dentist mould construction and use the techniques they learned to create their nature orientated sculptures. (Bottom left) Protea before casting: Pouring the molten liquid material onto the flower and allowing it to seep in to all the cracks and nooks creates a perfect negative shape. The plant disappears to ashes from heat inside eventually and only the mould with its hole remains. Many of these vessels, created by Nick for this purpose, are the only ones of their kind in the world.
Jane and Bruno in the studio etching: Recently Jane Eppel set up a system which allows her to process her etchings at home. Like Nick (Her partner) her work is finely detailed, but unlike Nic, she needs no-one and can work for days on her own, surfacing with finished pieces. Today she prides a pile of 10 prints from each etching plate (of editions of 20) in neatly wrapped packages for delivery to various clients and galleries who already await them. “You can‟t rub anything out” she warns, “Every stroke is permanent”. Bruno is her subject for this image which will be one of a series under a possible title of “Let Sleeping dogs lie.” Jane‟s studio runs into the courtyard where Nic Bladen and Emily Banda are extracting their moulds.
Jane Eppel and her mom, Lynn Eppel are very close. Today they discuss a collaboration which will combine their talents and techniques on an upcoming show. Jane is considering Lynn threading or sewing in some way into 2 D pieces in order to extend the layers of dimension of a body of work for submission. Jane‟s pieces often push the boundaries of convention of format of the medium. Her canvases are often constructed before she begins with 3 dimensional enclaves causing the opposite effect of „relief‟. Her new etching plate has been cut to an uneven circular shape.
(Top left) Painter, Cathy Layzell in her Blue Room stacked with paintings created over the past year or two. A really dedicated and prolific artist, Cathy arrives at her studio high up on hill, most days, even on weekends. Light and colours are most important to her, and the window views of the mountain on the one side and the harbor and sea on the other are a constant source of inspiration. Having studied painting at Rhodes and completed an informal „finishing era‟ through England and Europe over 8 years, escapading on and off with painting in the south of France, Cathy veered towards Kalk Bay for its light and atmospheric artist‟s hub. Her love affair with this small harbour town is so passionate that it causes her boyfriend to be jealous. She is busy on an order of 6 small canvases for an exhibition in Johannesburg. (Top) Cathy Layzell‟s Studio: The light in her studio comes from a window on each side of the room. When the light ceases climb the hill, Cathy packs up and heads home to Hout Bay. She leaves her still lifes up to continue to paint tomorrow.
Tuesday mornings life drawing sessions are open to artists from all over. Todayâ€&#x;s group includes an English artist in Cape Town for 2 months, as well as students passing through in their winter holiday. A large number of dedicated artists live in the surrounding areas, but the group ebbs and fills with others who journey weekly from Newlands, Observatory and Central Cape Town. If you arrive early enough you will access an easel, a board, pegs, clips, chairs and tables. The group has been in existence for many years and has even exhibited their work in a group show. The models change weekly and return often. Andi really inspires the group, his quiet energy maintaining the poses from 2 minutes to 15 minutes or half an hour with ease.
(Top) Lionel Davis is an awesome character, positive, jovial and dedicated to cultural involvement. In between his serious poses, he roared with laughter trying on his various hats that he has collected over the years to enhance his mood for painting. Over the past many years. Lionel has travel to many art and political centres of the world, invited to talk about his experiences during and post Apartheid. It is through these working opportunities that he has been able to set himself up comfortably in Muizenberg, he says. Lionel in his studio with one of his “Coloured Man” self portraits. Having been incarcerated on Robben Island, under house arrest during the apartheid era and later choosing to live and work on the island after it became a heritage site, Lionel professes to be an escapist in his work. “I do not deal with pain” he admits. (Below) Lionel and Peter Clarke are close friends. Lionel, his wife and Peter often sojourn over weekend into central Cape Town where they do exhibition hopping and other cultural activities. Peter Clarke is a well known and prolific visual artist, having succeeded is surviving solely through the sale of his artworks and artistic application. He and Lionel discuss Lionel‟s artworks presented for the Irma Stern show.
(Top) George of Quagga Trading views his treasure trove of books and collectibles, (Below middle) (Below) A schoolgirl, looking out from Quagga Trading, George the security guard at Quagga makes sure everything is fine, Jane Eppel with Bruno greeting me, The railway house. Roy Roach from Fishhoek in the big mirror
(Top) The Potters shop and adjacent park (Below) School girl, Dog walker, at the Labia Museum - Muizenburg, Plumber and avid runner doing his excercise.