Mon, Tues & Thurs: 07H00 - 16H00 Wed & Fri: 07H00 - 22H00 Sat: 10h00 - 14h00; 17h00 - 22h00 Narina Trogon and The Canopy are available for private bookings on request. Please contact us for further information. T 011 339 6645 C 078 121 7133 E info@narinatrogon.com 81 De Korte Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg
Cover Artist: Sadia Salim
INTOCERAMICS is published quarterly INTOCERAMICS welcome contributions from its readers in the form of articles, news snippets and photographs. All photographs need to be clear and in focus with a resolution of 300 dpi in JPEG or TIFF format. Please submit via email to inbox@intoceramics.com The opinions expressed in INTOCERAMICS are those of the contributors and not necessarily that of the editor.
Editorial 6 Inbox 8 Shopfront 10 Showcase 12 Profile: Sadia Salim 14 The potters of Mukondeni 20 Arts & crafts fair 26
CONTENTS 27 On your marks 28 Profile: Loren Kaplan 34 Johannesburg art fair 2009 40 Flexible ceramics 46 Selling your craft 50 Flambe ware 56 Sandton craft & design
FROM THE EDITOR Editor Deon de Lange Contributors Sadia Salim Bas Kools Robyn Sassen
THEFIREISSUE
Designer Kyle Goulden
With winter well underway in the southern hemisphere, ceramists have gone into hibernation, and casseroles, log fires and hot chocolate are part of our daily routines. For the fortunate few, visits to game reserves is a great reward after the hard work of the summer. But their is no rest for the wicked, I am hard at work for an exhibition opening in July, as well as doing community development work with my partner in crime, Julia Kunstler. It is very rewarding working with a few of the many talented rural communities, that don始t have access to skills training, modern materials and technology that so many of us take for granted. I will do a story with photos in the next issue, by which time we will have products ready for the marketplace.
velopment in their work after acquiring different skills. In this issue you can read about the work of Sadia Salim, who spent her residency in South Africa, the traditional ceramics of the Mukondeni village, using primitive firing on their pots, the warm glow of Loren Kaplan始s lights and the new casting moulds of Bas Kools. Fitting with the fire theme is Flambe Ware, produced early in the previous century. I hope our readers in the northern hemisphere enjoy their summer, we envy you.
Deon
Ceramists here are well inspired after the Clay Festival in Johannesburg and the Winter Workshops in Cape Town, and I look forward to seeing new deINTOCERAMICSWINTER2009
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Clay - Tools - Tiles Garden Pots - Dinnerware 1 Annet Road, Cottesloe Johannesburg 011 482 2215/7 www.liebermannpottery.net liebpott@iafrica.com
INBOX
What a fantastic magazine – amazing production work – stunning presentation – well done – we certainly need this injection into the ceramics world in SA. Can’t wait for more issues – I just love the first one. Congratulations! Linda Busanski What a wonderful inspiring "book". This is giving me so much inspiration.........Thank you. Rochelle Beresford Interresant en insigewend en baie kontemporer! Querardien van Vliet Congratulations on the first issue of INTO CERAMICS magazine!!! It looks great - the content as well as the design! Well done and thank you very much for your effort. Ivana Petan
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Looking GOOD, Deon, my compliments. And ambitious too with so many pages. I have to get used to the fact that it's an autumn-number, here it's almost spring!! Hannie mommers The mag looks great! I look forward to reading it cover-to-cover! Hats off to you, you've done a great job! Alan Samons Deon this is just the most exciting experience since Bakers Biscuits! The magazine has blown me away... having been a subscriber of overseas magazines for years always hoping for something to launch our uniqueness in South Africa, to join the 'world'...it has arrived with this INTOCERAMICS. Thank you. Maggie Matthews Send us mail to inbox@intoceramics.com
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An extensive range of bisque ware is available for ceramic decorators at our factory in Strijdom Park. We also manufacture ceramics for lodges, hotels, caterers and the retail industry. Workshops are held in ceramic underglaze decoration and mosaics. More specialised courses are offered by arrangement such as: sprig moulding, using glazes, mould making, etc. All provisions for the hobbyist can be found from clay and pottery tools to brushes and the full range of “Claybright� underglazes of which many colours are available in 3d effect. We also provide a firing service. A mould making service is also offered, providing retailers with the opportunity to stock exclusive designs. 34 C R swart Drive, Strijdom Park, Randburg Tel: 011 792 9351 Fax: 011 792 7389 e-mail gillian@studiobela.co.za
SHOPFRONT The Pottery Detective DVD’s on various pottery communities in China Lieberman Pottery 011 482 2215
Silicone Rubber Sprig Moulds Dragon Glass 011 849 6430
Clayman Porcelain is now available in Gauteng from Clayze 011 792 9351
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Gradient PVC Backdrops for photographing ceramic objects 50cm x 100cm R250 75cm x 150cm R500 0828553595 ddl@tiscali.co.za
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Clementina van der Walt Kim Sacks Gallery Johannesburg 20 June - 11 July 2009 o11 4475804 Walkabout with Clementina @ 15H00 on 20 June
Nick Hauser 0842936812
Deon de Lange Upstairs @ Bamboo 4 - 12 July 2009 0828553595 INTOCERAMICSWINTER2009
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SHOWCASE Bas Kools Arnhem Fashion Biennale 6 June - 6 July 2009
Wiebke von Bismarck The Cape Gallery 021 4235309
Julia Kunstler Upstairs @ Bamboo 4 - 12 July 2009 0834513535 INTOCERAMICSWINTER2009
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SADIA SALIM A BRIEF ENCOUNTER Text and Photographs: Sadia Salim
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PROFILE
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A Brief Encounter The work of Sadia Salim In 2007, the Commonwealth Foundation awarded Sadia Salim with a fellowship to undertake artist in residence in South Africa. At that point it seemed like an extremely difficult proposition, as she did not know anyone there. ‘Being an educationist I hardly get time to do my own work, therefore, I was determined to undertake a long term residency’ says Salim. Finding an artist in residence with focus in ceramics also became quite a challenge. Unlike some of the developed countries, there are no structured ceramics residencies in South Africa. After expansive searching, she received two offers, one from Greatmore Studios in Cape Town and the other from the University of Johannesburg. For these organizations, this was a new experience as well. In February 2008 she packed her bags and started the journey into the unknown. Salim have always been interested in the processes of firing,
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both for human involvement and aesthetic reasons. Her previous experiences include gas, wood, salt/soda, anagama, smoke and raku. In such firings there is always gas pressure to be controlled, stoking or salting to be done or red hot pots to be removed from the kiln and thus there can be many surprises upon opening. The mark left by the fire tells the story of clay put to its ultimate test. In electric firing, with just one push of a button the firing starts and ends on its own. The human involvement in the process is minimal and the process is quite sterile. Furthermore, the studio allocated to her in Cape Town had no potter’s wheel. Whichever process Salim eventually uses, the wheel always seems to play a role in bringing forth ideas. With John Bauer’s help she obtained a wheel from CPS and started to work with various clays and materials. Despite a work proposal submitted in early 2007, Salim was still not
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PROFILE sure what she really wanted to do so she started to sketch, write and dabble with the slip casting process. Eventually she worked with both throwing as well as slip cast found objects. Somewhere along the line the found objects were replaced by discarded and disposable objects. Tucked away in a studio in Observatory, she did not have an access to books, the Internet or for that matter any interaction with any other artists whilst working. However, when not in the studio, her time was spent exploring the beautiful Cape Town as well as visiting exhibitions, galleries, museums and attending presentations and workshops. The residency culminated into an open studio exhibition at Greatmore Studios. The work was still in progress, many of the ideas finally taking shape at that stage. The residency at the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture of the University of Johannesburg began in July. In total contrast to the Cape Town studio, the place was abuzz with Art activities, students and faculty members. In presence of
Eugene Hon and John Shirley, both with very different styles of work, there was loads to share and learn. The facility was well equipped with electric kilns, potter’s wheels and many other tools required in ceramic making. And therefore, long hours were spent in the studios, consolidating, realizing and refining the many ideas that had emerged earlier. Time flew by quickly and she had an exhibition of her works in October, at the FADA building of the university. As a ceramist working from Karachi, Pakistan, all clay bodies and glazes have to be self prepared from locally available materials. Constructing kilns and making wheels also requires a great deal of interaction with the technicians. It is inevitable to explore various materials and processes involved in ceramic making and the course to final work can be long and laborious. Ever since her student days, Salim have been inclined to work in a series, the inspiration or influence being nature, people or her surroundings. The surfaces were either marked by
OPENING PAGE: If you go into the woods today. FACING PAGE LEFT: Target Practice. CENTRE: If you go into the woods today. RIGHT: Tea time time bomb. THIS PAGE LEFT, CENTRE & RIGHT: If you go into the woods today.
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fire, smoke or pigments or left plain. Glazes have always been used in a minimal way. The residency gave Salim ample time to reflect on her ceramic practice and develop fresh ideas and methods of working. The work produced is influenced by some of the impressions formed while living and working in a new and challenging environment. It was a personal journey concerned with the mundane. Everyday disposable and discarded objects, daily conversations and observations become ideas for the work. The residency has brought a new dimension to her work, developed from the experience of travelling and a feeling of impermanence. Japanese writer, Haruki Murakami, aptly sums up life as: ‘Everyone just keeps on disappearing. Some things just vanish, as if they were cut away. Others fade slowly into the mist. And all that remains is a desert.’ Salim investigates the transience of life through everyday disposable objects. These objects were used by her in one way or another, and were meant to be thrown away after a brief and intimate contact. However, she retained them for further usage and then made moulds out of these for her
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work. The casts were then reassembled to make contemplative three-dimensional forms and installations. The form of a food can has many exciting possibilities, which could be explored for a long time to come. Similarly, casts of a water bottle was used extensively, also creating a piece called Crowd, resembling a group of people. Casts of yogurt cups were used in large numbers, without altering them much, to make bigger shapes and forms. The congregation of thrown pots is a representation of people of different racial backgrounds. This work was made in Cape Town and symbolizes how she, as a visitor, viewed people living there. The scribbles on the pots are parts of some of the conversations, observations and then deputy president Thabo Mbeki’s 1996 speech. Sadia Salim is a full time faculty member and coordinator of the Ceramics Department at Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karachi. ‘I would like to thank the Commonwealth Foundation, John Bauer, CPS, Eugene Hon and John Shirley for their support in making this residency possible and providing me with help and support whenever required. I am also indebted to many friends that I made during my stay in South Africa for their kindness and generosity.’
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The Rural Potters of
Mukondeni Village Text and Photographs Deon de Lange
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TRADITIONAL
PREVIOUS PAGE: Pottery lining the side of the road.
THIS PAGE LEFT: Sarah Munyai outside her house. BELOW: A variety of wares on display.
The Rural Potters of Mukondeni Village By Deon de Lange
It was early one morning that we set out in search of local crafts people whose work will be used for a project in the Manavhela Game Reserve in the beautiful Limpopo province of South Africa. We picked up a guide and translator in Elim village and drove along a winding moun‐ tainous road in rain and thick fog. At the bottom of the mountain we turned of the main road onto a dirt track and was soon stopped by the Tshipise river which was Elooding the low water bridge. I switched the Land Cruiser to four wheel drive and we quickly traversed the river.
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On the other side we constantly slowed down for potholes, cattle, goats, chickens and children. As we came around a bend in the road, we were surprised by the whole street lined with a mass of pottery. As I stopped the vehicle, we were greeted by old and young who asked us to see their pictures on our digital cameras. Af‐ ter much excitement we were taken to the house of Sarah Munyai. Eighty eight year old Sarah has become quite an icon in the whole of Limpopo province. Her pottery are sought after by many, and is traditionally in daily use for
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TRADITIONAL
FROM THE TOP: Decorative platters against the wall. A vessel being smoothed with a plastic kidney. Detail of the fish decoration. The open air firing pit.
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collecting and storing water, brew‐ ing and cooling sorghum beer, stor‐ age and cooking of food as well as serving, eating and drinking vessels. Sarah was taught the skill of pottery by her mother at the age of twelve, and she has subsequently taught her daughters and other woman in the village her skills. They all work at their own homes, and carry their wares in large zinc baths on their head to Sarah’s place to sell. The pots are made from local clay dug from the banks of the Tshipise river. Stones and grass is Eirst re‐ moved before the clay is used. An old shard is used as the wheel and enamel plates are often used as a guide for size. The pot is started as a donut shaped lump of clay, which is then pulled up from the inside while the shard is turned. For larger pots, extra coils are added and skillfully worked in. When the pot is leather hard, it is turned over and the base is made round by pinching in the excess clay. The rim is then cut straight and a thick coil of clay is then added to strengthen that. The pots are smoothed out with plastic kidneys cut from discarded plastic buckets. Once leather hard,
the vessels are decorated by incising horizontal lines, triangles and arcs with a nail or piece of wire. Some‐ times coils are added to the surface as embossed decoration. Patterns strongly relate to ancient Venda and Tsonga patterns, with leaf and Eish motifs also being popular. The Eish is a symbol of peace and was intro‐ duced by Swiss missionaries. The pots are then covered with blankets or plastic and left indoors to dry. Most of the decoration is on the top half of the vessel, as it is normally stored on the ground and can then be viewed from above. The Venda pottery is easily recog‐ nized by its terracotta and silver colour. The terracotta, called Luvhundi, is obtained from yellow ochre clay obtained locally. It is ap‐ plied by rubbing on with a cloth or painting with a brush. The graphite, also known as Phomo, originates from Zimbabwe. Once decorated the vessels are burnished with smooth river pebbles before it is Eired. The Eiring takes place in an open air pit in the ground, about three me‐ ters in diameter. The pit is lined with old burnt out mattress coils, covered with dry twigs. The bone
RIGHT: A large decorative pot outside a mud residence. FAR RIGHT: A large pot used for carrying and storing water.
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TRADITIONAL dry vessels are then stacked up‐ side down, then covered with ad‐ ditional twigs and dry veld grass, purchased from other villagers. Sheets of corrugated Iron are placed on top before the Eire is lit from the base. The Eire burn Eiercely for about twenty minutes and is then left overnight to cool down before it is unpacked the next morning. Depending on their size, between ten and sixty pieces are Eired at a time.
try rather than traditional use. The migration of the younger genera‐ tion to work in the cities and members of the community dying of AIDS result in not too many people carrying over the skills to the next generation. The rural pot‐ ters of Limpopo truly is a South African cultural gem. Additional information supplied by Michelle Legg.
The breakage rate in the Eiring is extremely high, sometimes up to thirty percent. This is a result of either thermal shock or damp ware being packed. The course clay and low Eiring make these pots suitable to be used as Eire‐ places or for cooking on an open Elame. Sadly with the community becom‐ ing more westernized, the tradi‐ tional pottery have to make way for more convenient plastic stor‐ age containers and metal cook‐ ware. The younger generation who work in the cities for higher sala‐ ries, aspire to western ceramics for daily use, resulting in more pieces being made for the tourist indus‐ ABOVE RIGHT: Pots drying under plastic sheets. RIGHT: Wares are carried to the markets in a zinc bath. FAR RIGHT: Pots displayed outside Sarah Munyai’s house. INTOCERAMICSWINTER2009
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Decorative Arts & Crafts Fair @ The Canopy 4-6 September 2009 Artists and Crafters are invited to submit work for selection for the first annual Decorative arts and crafts fair in Johannesburg. The venue for the fair is The Canopy, pictured above, situated above the famous landmark restaurant, Narina Trogon, at 91 De Korte street, Braamfontein.
corporate offices in Braamfontein and the Johannesburg CBD, while food and wine connoisseurs drive from far and wide to sample the fantastic food at night.
The Canopy, apart from being a function venue, have hosted many successful art exhibitions during their existence.
Exhibitors need to man their own stands, different sizes are available to suit everyone’s needs.
Drawing daytime visitors from the clientele of Narina Trogon downstairs, which consists mainly of people working in the big
For more information please contact Carlyn Zehner on 011 339 6645 or e-mail info@narinatrogon.com
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Secure parking is available either on street level or at one of the nearby parkades.
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ON YOUR MARKS Justin Kerrod, an antique dealer living in Cape Town, Is busy compiling a reference book on marks, monograms and signatures of ceramists and potters in Southern Africa, due for release later this year. The book is designed to be a reference guide for ceramists, dealers, collectors, auction houses and pottery enthusiasts. The book will be used to identify pottery and ceramics made in South‐ ern Africa. Much like the “British Studio Potters Marks” handbook, it will be a much needed and over‐ due guide. People who are interested in collect‐ ing ceramics are only interested in pieces rhat can be identiEied. South African potters’ marks are not recorded in any publication, this will be
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the Eirst of its kind and will be updated on a regular basis. South African Ceramics have largely been ig‐ nored by the collecting fraternity because there is no way to identify it. Pieces are mis‐identiEied by dealers and auction houses, resulting in col‐ lecting ceramics a very risky business. This guide aims to give stability to this risk and stimulate the market. If you are not sure if your mark has been re‐ corded, please contact Justin to be included be‐ fore going to print. Justin Kerrod email: kerrod@iafrica.com telephone: 021 782 7270
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Making Space an exhibition by
Loren Kaplan Text: Robyn Sassen Photographs supplied by: Loren Kaplan
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FUNCTIONAL
Opening Pages: Pierced porcelain shades.
Left: Coiled inlaid pouring vessel. Below: Bells of forgiveness.
Making Space An Exhibition by Loren Kaplan By Robyn Sassen
A small French-speaking boy stood solemnly before “The Bells of Forgiveness”, when I visited Loren Kaplan's exhibition. This key installation in “Making Space”, comprising six large bells of black clay suspended in a steel frame, reaches out to the visitor to play. He did, allowing their resonant distinct voices to sing. “The Bells of Forgiveness” is the tour de force piece in this beautifully and astutely constructed and laid out exhibition, but are not it’s only driving force. The exhibition, manifested in the form of photographs, vesINTOCERAMICSWINTER2009
sels, lights and bells, spills over into all possible exhibiting spaces in the Alliance gallery, giving it poetry that it has not seen before in other exhibitions. Kaplan is a magician with light, sound and things that change your life by their presence. “Making Space” segues visual, tactile and spiritual values with classically African ones, blending form, function and meaning, and intermingling African values with Buddhist ones in their mesmerizing labour intensiveness, the poetry of their intricately repeated designs. These flawless organic shapes are 30
FUNCTIONAL Right Top: Rose window chandelier. Right Bottom: P o rc e l a i n s l i p t r a i l e d shade.
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FUNCTIONAL
decorated meticulously with holes through which light filters or meanderings plotted on still moist clay. Kaplan’s process-based photographs are interesting; they’re documentaries not poems, like her ceramics. Skirting and flirting with a design ethos reminiscent of Art Deco, the works retain their own identity and visual signature, speaking of a call to nature and a call to meditation rather than anything reaching in a conceptual or pretentious direction. Never slipping into the apologetic taint or heavyhanded boisterousness of craft—these vessels—for light, sound or other substances have soul.
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Above: Coiled embryonic vessel. Below Left: Kaplan Oltman wire and porcelain chandelier. Below Right: Bells of Forgiveness.
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Guild
COLLECTABLE
Art Fair 2009
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Astrid Dahl Originally inspired by a book of photographs by Karl Blossfeld, Astrid’s white earthenware sculptures take their starting point from flowers, and they are as complex and detailed as nature itself. She has created over 60 different botanical pieces, all in her trademark creamy, natural finish which have been exhibited all over the world. Astrid graduated in fine art and began her career in a bronze casting foundry, but believes she was born to ceramics: ‘It’s something I know, I’m not scared of clay, I’ll tackle it and keep on building .” The gravity defying shapes need internal structures to support the weight of the petals as each piece is coiled, rather than sculpted, from solid clay. In recent designs she has opened the pieces to show the structure inside – as beautiful and detailed as any blossom could be.
Ceramic Matters Having collaborated for more than 30 years, Gerhard Swart and Anthony Harris have taken decorative ceramics to an entirely new level with their fantasy fueled, nature inspired art pieces. Ceramic wallpaper, organic matter, skeletons, tattooed forms, architectural detailing all belie the fragility of the material they are made from and create a new reality of touch and perception. Ceramic Matters are prolific in the production of new work and specialize in commissioned designs creating individual pieces for specific exhibitions and events. Winners of the ‘Designers of the Year’ award from Visi in 2007, their work has been exhibited for many years in galleries and stores around the world.
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COLLECTABLE Frauke Stegmann Frauke has a unique take on what is important. She believes that the unloved things, that land up in car boot sales and neighborhood stalls, hold a magic that stirs forgotten memories. She compulsively visits markets in Europe and South Africa for inspiration for her various ceramic ranges, which bear names like ‘Milnerton Market is Nice’. Working in porcelain, nostalgic colours and gilt her tea sets and dinnerware often retain the jagged edges of their moulds and incorporate shapes of childhood toys and vintage patterning. These fairy tale objects, seemingly delicate and romantic, hold a deeper resonance of re-use, self examination and healing.
Imiso Andile Dyalvane, Zizipho Phoswa, Mlamli Mayosi and Lulama Sihluku comprise the four members of Imiso. The unique ceramics produced by the studio are inspired by traditional Nguni artifacts and the gracious simplicity of these classical forms are reinterpreted into art pieces for a contemporary audience. A signature element is the referencing of Xhosa ‘ukuqatshulwa’ scarification through the markings in the clay. A multi disciplinary studio, Imiso are launching their new furniture range which continues their exploration and examination of heritage and culture. These pieces are fresh, original and engaging and resonate with possibilities for this young studio that have already garnered an excellent reputation.
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COLLECTABLE Michael Haigh Having completed a foundation course in fine art, Mick undertook a diploma in botany, which is the background of his inspiration. On participating in a wood firing event in 1998, he began working in clay and followed the strict and minimalist tradition of Chinese and Japanese ceramics. His early work was mostly austere, wood burned tea bowls and vases in high-fired stoneware and porcelain. Recently he has been drawn to treating traditional forms with a contemporary twist producing a "tension" which is fascinating. With work in recent exhibitions in France, England and Sweden, Michael’s individual approach to historical shapes have proven irresistible.
Shirley Fintz Born in Zimbabwe, Shirley completed her fine art degree with majors in graphics and photography. She is a celebrated ceramist who has exhibited in London, New York, Paris, Munich, Denmark, Sweden and Japan. A fascination with the everyday, common culture, spirituality, pop art, toys and fantasy has fueled her work, which explores these themes in larger than life ceramic pieces decorated in vivid pattern and explosive colour. As her work has evolved her themes have become intertwined, and her pieces grown larger, as they comment on our brand obsessed culture and her fascination with the inner child.
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Julia K Ceramics
Ceramic Painting Classes Custom Designs Commissions Accepted
Julia 0834513535
F LEXI B L E C ERA M I CS Text and Photographs: Bas Kools
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INSPIRATIONAL
I wanted to be able to give a nice and personal gift to people I like. A mug for me is a very special object because its use is so close to our body. Bas Kools
Flexible Ceramics The Innovative Ceramics of Bas Kools I started thinking about design when I chose graphic design for my diploma in 1997. After four years of that I figured out that working in 3D was what I liked most, did my degree in product design in Arnhem, Netherlands and followed this up with a masters at the Royal College of Art in London. Now 10 years later I’m starting to figure where I stand and what it means being a designer. From the moment I started my BA, I loved design, and hated it at the same time. The question ‘WHY’ was and is INTOCERAMICSWINTER2009
my greatest help, but also my greatest enemy. During my BA I figured that I cannot just make things, there must be a reason, an explanation, and preferably a socially related question. Although material experimentation is a big part of my work, the context, and why I work on a project always has to do with a social happening. I react to what I see, hear and feel at home and on the street, sometimes supporting and solving problems, sometimes commenting and taking a stand. Design in my eyes is a service that has to find its position in our society. And a de42
signer is a person that has the ability to think about objects, materials, situations and systems from a different perspective to ask the right questions solve or to provoke, to offer a solution in any possible way. I wanted to be able to give a nice and personal gift to people I like. A mug for me is a very special object because its use is so close to our body. Only the making of a mould for the production of just one mug takes time and is limited when you want to work fast. Therefore I want to be able to make this process more flexible and playful. To be able to make a mould in a short time, without spending loads of money and without the problem of a mould that doesn’t release the object. In this Project I try to express some of the possibilities of my flexible moulds by making a system you cast nine mugs simultaneously. These mugs influence and infect each others
shape while being cast. Which provides a collection of mugs that have a strong relation to each other being unique. I began experimenting with paper, fabric, foam and sponges. I found that materials like paper and textiles are too flexible and did not allow me to use them as a cast. After many tests I found one kind of sponge that worked in a similar way to slipcasting in plaster, through the build up of a wall thickness in the mould. These sponges, seen near most of our kitchen sinks are cheap and common. They come in various colours, every brand with its own texture and flexible enough to use with a sewing machine. The material, called cellulose sponge cloth' is made from wood pulp treated in a chemical process, but is still compostable. Working with the sponge cloth creates an entirely new set of
Flexible Ceramics Cellulose sponge cloth moulds are used to cast the porcelain. Every crack and texture translates to the surface of the item.
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variables. As the porcelain slip cast the texture of the sponges, the creases in the material and the sewn stitches, all leave their impressions on the final object. This means that the entire outside of the object is covered with texture. Experimenting with other ways to express the flexibility of the mould I cast cups in a system of four, nine or more in the same mould. During the casting process the cups influence and infect each other's shape as they deform under gravity and pressure of the liquid clay. This results in a collection of objects that has a strong relation to each other. A family or puzzle created as one group that can only fit together in one way yet each part remains unique.
Flexible ceramics is a project as part of the theme 'The world is square'. This was my graduation theme at the Royal College
of Art, studying Product Design in 2007. 'The world is square' is a comment on our rigid thinking society, working from personal issues and things I see around me. I try to find different approaches to current objects, materials, systems and thinking. This project started with a self-inspired brief and an obsession with mugs and resulted in a physical and conceptual expression of the theme. What I try to capture in the way I work is by experimenting to find what you had never expected.
I like the charm, the risk and the appealingly randomness of the approach of Zaphod Beeblebrox has in Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s guide to the Galaxy: ‘I don’t know what I’m looking for.’ ‘Why not?’ ‘Because … because … I think it might be because if I knew I wouldn’t be able to look for them.’
T h e Wo r l d i s Square
'The
world is square' is a comment on our rigid thinking society, working from personal issues and things I see around me.
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INSPIRATIONAL The process of Flexible Ceramics. Cellulose sponge cloth is used to make the moulds with a sewing machine. Porcelain is then cast into the moulds, which burns away during firing, leaving the item ready to be finished with glaze.
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Selling your Craft Text and Photos: Deon de Lange
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INFORMATIONAL
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So often in the past have people taken part in a show or exhibition, paid good money to exhibit, but came back frustrated after a long day having to pack up everything without selling a single thing. The reason is mostly that the exhibitor does not understand the dynamics of the venue, and often brings the wrong merchandise. I have put together a few guidelines: Flea markets: These are the lowest in the food chain, and you need to take items specific to that. Families that don’t normally buy from chain stores mostly frequent markets. Watch what the people are wearing, if they dress in clothing from mass supermarkets, you can write off your day to a bad experience. If they wear funky individual clothing, they are more likely to buy handmade goods. Carol Hayward-Fell
As they also carry limited amounts of money on them, it is unlikely that they will buy a piece for thousands of rands. The public is cautious about credit card fraud, and unless you have your own Speed Point machine, they will not follow you elsewhere to do a transaction. Cellphone card transactions are an inexpensive way to use the facility, although people don’t always trust this method,
Keep your products functional or quirky, whether traditional or fun, but keep in the lower price ranges. Have lots of little dishes or mugs selling for under R100. Have a few midpriced items and one or two showstoppers. Work in a range of similar colours and decoration, you will often sell something extra matching the original choice. However, if you have to explain the function of the item, then the sale is lost. Flea markets are also a good opportunity to sell your second grade items. Expos: Decorex, Rooms on View, Homemakers Fair Whether you have your own stand or you are part of a larger group, you also have to look at your merchandise. People go there to get ideas of how to decorate their homes. Often you would sell a piece like an unusual basin or a platter or vase to fit into a specific area of their house. These shows are not aimed at serious art buyers, and good conceptual pieces are wasted on the uninformed. Rather have good quality utilitarian or decorative pieces that will sell easily. People prefer to buy cash and carry and can also commission you to make a specific piece, in which case you have to make sure you and the client are on the same page. Negotiate a price before you write the order and take a fair deposit. Be realistic about the delivery date, and consistent in your execution. Have a professional business card to give to the client and make sure you have taken
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their correct details. Be specific about what you are going to do, your customer does not want a nasty surprise when you deliver. Credit card facilities are very important for these venues. Trade Shows: SARCDA, Design Indaba Do not even attempt these unless you are 100% committed and have the infrastructure to cope with it. At a trade show, you do not sell from your stand, but rather exhibit a sample range from which you take orders for the products and manufacture from orders. Always set a minimum order value, which makes your task a lot lighter in the end. Clients that commit to a substantial order become regulars, rather than ones that cant tell a story with a few pieces. Be clear about delivery dates and courier fees, which is normally for the clients account. Be clear about who is responsible for breakages in transit and get that in writing. Get a reliable courier with good references, and suggest their insurance facility to cover accidents, loss or breakages. Do not dispatch your order before the money is in your account. When you are producing your orders, do not take shortcuts to speed up your process, it always backfires on you. Make sure your quality is good and consistent; do not try to sneak in a piece that is substandard. Your success is dependant on your reputation. Galleries and Exhibitions: Here is your opportunity to push your boundaries and sell something truly exceptional. You can go more experimental and avant-garde and people that attend these venues are more educated about the subject and medium. When pricing your items, take into account the commission payable to the venue, and do not out price yourself. You cannot expect to get the same price as an established artist if you are still a beginner. However, do not underestimate yourself by selling too cheaply. Both you and the buyer should have a fair deal.
Andile Dyalvane
Quality is also important, as well as practicality. No one will spend a fortune on a piece that is top heavy and look like it will fall over with the risk of breaking. Unglazed surfaces stand the risk of getting dirty and might be impossible to clean. Outdoor pieces need to be frost resistant. In short, make sure your work of art is beautiful and practical. A motto that always inspired me is ‘Nothing succeeds like Success’. I hope these guidelines inspire you to be successful in the sales of your work - the more you sell, the more you can make and so get better at your craft.
Julia Kunstler
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Flambe Ware Text: Deon de Lange
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HISTORICAL
PREVIOUS PAGE: An ancient Chinese Flambe Vase. THIS PAGE LEFT: A Royal Doulton Flambe Vase. THIS PAGE BELOW: A Ruskin Flambe Vase.
Flambe Ware is a term used to describe a glossy, rich, blood red glaze often slashed with streaks of purple or turquoise used to decorate pottery, particularly porcelain. The effect is produced by reduction firing, a method where the kiln is sealed off from outside air supply, and the fire then draws oxygen from the molecular structure of the clay body. The glaze incorporates copper, which normally yields a green colour in oxidation firing, but reduces to a red colour. The method was first discovered by the Chinese of the Ming dynasty, probably during the reign of Wanli (1573-1620). The process was at first difficult to control, but it had been mastered by the time of Kanxi (1661-1722) and Qianlong (1736-96) in the Qing dynasty, and chuihong, or "blown red" glaze ware, became INTOCERAMICSWINTER2009
popular. Examples of this older work are now extremely rare. The langyao porcelain of the Qing dynasty was imitated in Europe, especially in the porcelain factory at Sevres, France, which produced a substantial amount of sang de boeuf in the late 19th century. A new kind of British pottery flourished in the years around 1900, known as 'Art Pottery'. The term is used to describe those wares produced from about the 1870s to the 1930s which were made in the spirit of the Arts and Crafts Movement. The movement was inspired by the work and views of the designer William Morris and the art critic and writer John Ruskin. Their followers aimed to revive traditional handicrafts and avoid the machinemade look. The makers of Art Pottery saw 52
HISTORICAL themselves as artists using the unpredictable effects of the kiln to create individual works of art. Some makers were also influenced by the pots produced in China. They experimented with glazes and shapes to produce harmony between pot and decoration. The large manufacturer Doulton & Co Ltd, whilst producing dinnerware and other items, including sanitary wares, experimented and made Art Pottery. Others makers such as Sir Edmund Elton worked on a much smaller scale.
which were fired many times at very high temperatures. The flambé pieces were fired in the famous "red kiln". Only a few trusted employees were allowed to supervise the firings and visitors were never allowed to see the kiln. Firings would start at 4am and would continue into the late evening. During the long and proud history of Doulton's, Flambé is recognized as their most outstanding Technical Achievement. The firm began in 1858 and were based in Lambeth, London. They also had a factory in Burslem, Staffordshire where this particular type of ware was produced.
The flambé glazes were used on different types of Ruskin Wares from large vases to buttons for clothes. Each piece was unique and could not be repeated. There were lots of different glaze effects, which included A similar kind of glaze as that used by snakeskin, cracking, veining, mottling the Chinese for hundreds of years, and fissures. was reproduced by John Slater and Charles J Noke at Doulton, from the The flambé glaze, which includes the late 1890s. Like the Chinese, Slater stunning red sang de boeuf glaze, is and Noke added copper oxide to the considered to be the best glaze that glaze and experimented with the efthe factory produced. There was a fects of reducing oxygen in the kiln great degree of secrecy surrounding during firing. This resulted in the production of the flambé pieces, beautiful red to purple colouring on T H I S PA G E L E F T AND RIGHT: Royal Doulton Flambe ware vases.
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THIS PAGE LEFT: A Moorcroft Anemone Flambe Vase. THIS PAGE BELOW: A Moorcroft Leaves and Berries Flambe Bowl.
the pot. This challenging development reminiscent of the ancient Chinese ware is recognized as the finest ever produced. The older pieces are some of the finest examples of this unique and beautiful ware.
Moorcroft pottery soon made its mark on the world.nDesigns came from 24-year-old William Moorcroft who was allowed to personalise each piece of pottery produced with his own signature or initials. This did little for James Macintyres name and reputation, and in They recreated an Oriental style Rouge 1912 Macintyres closed the art ware departFlambe glaze after long experimentation start- ment and the inevitable split occurred. ing in the 1890s. Charles Noke continued to develop the transmutation glazes. He fol- William marched his workforce across Colowed this with Chang wares, which rely on bridge Park to a new factory in Sandbach thick, lava-like glazes oozing down over the Road where Moorcroft pottery is still made body of the vase for its decorative effect. This today. William Moorcroft became interested in Is the result of the fusion of the elements air, developing high temperature glazes but he fire, earth and metal and no two pieces are did not have the facilities until 1919 when he alike. started to build a special kiln to experiment and create glazes such as the Flambe glaze. It Originally founded as a studio in 1897 within was completed in 1921 and by 1922 the first of the James Macintyre & Co ceramic company, the Rouge Flambe glazes were produced. INTOCERAMICSWINTER2009
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HISTORICAL
Moorcroft considered this to be his greatest achievement and Queen Mary so admired his work he received the Royal warrant in 1928. The initial setup investment came from Liberty & Co., the famous London store, and Liberty controlled Moorcroft until 1962.
moon. A Chinese writer once wrote concerning the influence of the planet Mars on the 'rouge flambĂŠ glaze', 'When the planet approaches its greatest brightness, things happen magically and contrary to the usual order'. Hundreds of years later Doulton managed to reproduce a similar glaze by rather In earlier times the Chinese thought that to be more analytical means. Today the high-fired able to reproduce these gorgeous glazes the flambĂŠ glaze is highly prized by collectors all kiln had to be fired at a certain phase of the over the world.
THIS PAGE LEFT: A Moorcroft Flambe Vase. THIS PAGE BELOW: A Royal Doulton Flambe Vase.
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The Sandton Craft and Design Centre The Sandton Craft and Design Centre Opened on 9 April 2009 in the premises of the Sandton Art Gallery, just off Nelson Mandela Square. Sandton is a a tourist, shopping, business and financial hub, and an ideal location for the centre. Backed by the Gauteng Provincial Government ,the Department of Trade and Industry and the City of Johannesburg, the Craft and Design Centre aims to provide a platform for creative workers to showcase and promote their products to a local and international clientele. The centre opens up vast opportunities for black economic empowerment, job creation and poverty alleviation. The Centre will also be the ideal venue for businesses to source corporate gifts with a truly local flavour. The centre will also negotiate and facilitate orders on behalf of producers to provide products for corporate buyers. Crafts are an important part of the huge growth of the global creative economy. Creative industries contribute over R33-billion of the province's economy every year and create d i r e c t e m p l o yment for more than 60 000 people. 53 percent of the province's creative workers are women, 47% are young people and 15% of firms employ people with disabilities.. Many creative people lack access to capital and need help with marketing their INTOCERAMICSWINTER2009
products and with expanding their ventures. With help from the centre, these people can empower themselves to provide for their families and improve their living conditions, as well as creating jobs to alleviate poverty. At the core of the centre are five programmes that support creativity - design and innovation; enterprise development and training; market access; communication; and ongoing research and development The centre has a retail outlet where a diverse range of handmade products are on sale, a coffee shop and a space where crafters, designers and others can exchange ideas and showcase their skills. The Gauteng Craft and Design Centre is o p e n f r o m 9 H 0 0 u n t i l 17H00 f r o m Monday to Friday.
www.cdc-gauteng.co.za info@cdc-gauteng.co.za Left: Simon Masilo Right: Nic Sithole
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