Betty Woodman Installation in China

BETTY WOODMAN

It makes good sense to use clay for pots, vases, pitchers, and platters, but I like to have things both ways. I make things that could be functional, but I really want them to be considered works of art.

-Betty Woodman*

An earlier work of mine, inspired by Betty Woodman

...and then some images of her work here below

Whilst preparing a presentation that I will be giving this week at the Cape Craft and Design Institute on my work and what inspires me, I was reminded of the strong influence of the work of Betty Woodman. This video of one of her installations gives a wonderful insight into the logistics of such a project.

PANEL AT GALLERY 88

A new panel on show at a new exquisite space in Paarl (just outside Cape Town). The bright colours look rather luminous against the charcoal wall and resonate with the primary colours of the furniture. I have applied some of my newly found 'cartoon' approach to some of the faces, giving them a sense of immediacy and a freshness which I rather like.

Richard Slee and Grayson Perry discuss 'Sausage'

IT'S ALMOST SPRING!

Wall vase with flowers

Spring is sooner recognized by plants than by men. ~ Chinese Proverb

POTS BY HAND

Some of the pots made for our new soon-to-launched range, basking in glorious morning sun!

'Making pots by hand in the midst of a technological revolution at the dawn of a new millenium seems at odds with the spirit of the age. But consider a Roman pot made two thousand years ago, encapsulating the time and motion spent in its madding. With the template of my own anachronistic I can retrace the ancient potter's every move, read his craftsman's mind.

This time shrinking capacity of pots has always fascinated me. An eerie fraternity of potters coexist across the centuries, silently, eloquently informing one another. Pottery is a language which speaks to us not only of technique and technology, but of society, culture and ideas. It is just like music or poetry, a rich and powerful world of complexity and wonder, with the capacity to touch the soul'

Walter Keeler 2000

A CAT CAME TO MY WATER BOWL ON A HOT,HOT DAY..

The cat is called Ida. Also Spiglet (a long etymological journey involving Homer Simpson's Spider Pig song) Though Ida would answer this question differently...she is officially the cat of Liz, neighbour of Karen who is the owner of the bowl in the image above (A Clementina bowl circa ninety ninety something...)

And I, August 2010, inspired by the 'kitty' interest in my early water bowl, have made some cups with feline illustrations - out of the kiln today.

Grayson Perry discusses craft and art

Re-assuring to listen to the views of a fellow generation artist, Grayson Perry, who echoes surely what many of us reflect on whilst we burrow away in, what may be perceived by some youngsters as, a rather anachronistic activity.

MONDAY VASES

A great surprise after opening the post-weekend kiln...a row of bright new vases...like players on the early morning sunlit stage, casting puppet-like shadows and preparing themselves for lives in new spaces where they will perhaps be filled with flowers!

HEARTWORKS STITCHING CLUB

We share our beautiful studio space with Margaret Woermann and her Heartworks Stitching Club..They are currently very busy completing a large order for, amongst other items, a troop of monkeys..so now we have all the little and larger monkeys waiting patiently on a bench to be delivered to their distant destination, surely longing for a lively life abroad!

KALK BAY MODERN GROUP SHOW

Last night the opening of a group exhibition at Kalk Bay Modern - Art on Paper and Ceramics - where I have work on show. For this I presented a continuation of my figurative-and-mythical imagery on vases, beakers, plates. This is somehow what inspired me to try out the linear cartoon-like images which I posted on an earlier entry.

The Kalk Bay Modern Gallery is the most beautiful architectural space with splendid views of the harbour. A combination of ceramics, textiles, furniture, prints and paintings on the walls makes for great aesthetic pleasure...one just does not want to leave!

GLAZING TUESDAY

THE WEIGHED OUT BUCKETS OF GLAZE INGREDIENTS

ADONIS ENTHUSIASTICALLY APPROACHING THE TASK OF MIXING THE GLAZES

Yesterday was one of those days where the studio is filled with intense activity...Sandile painting delicate detail on to cups, I pondering over my little black notebook for glaze recipes which I then weigh out meticulously whilst wearing a teashirt-made-into-a-scarf around my face so as not to breathe in the dust because I can't find the masks...and then Adonis having the very tedious task of mixing up the powders with water and sieving the mixtures three times...so from dust to slop on the floor, and eventually much cleaning and mopping it was a fruitful day. Of course the glazes when fired on the pots will never reveal the secrets of all this preparation!

FROM LINE TO SILHOUETTE

From line drawings on beakers to silhouettes of figures..this is an old theme revisited..many possibilities yet to be explored...

IMAGINE...

I sometimes feel as if my mind is multifaceted, I am excited and spurred on to try all sorts of seemingly disparate aesthetic adventures...yet somehow there does however seem to be a constant pitch, a thread which is there in all my work although not always immediately apparent.

And so I have been having a lot of fun, - inspired by my illustrations on the wedding cups (see previous post) - surfaces of beakers where I imagine and draw simple line characters offset by solid black areas. I use a wonderful waxy matte glaze which gives the cups a very sensual tactile quality.

All other types of work still continue though...

COMMEMORATIVE WEDDING BEAKERS

A wedding gift which I made for special friends has inspired me to do 'cartoon' like images on my pots..slightly wacky and a lot of fun!

FINDING ONE'S WAY

Recently made pinch pots with new glazes

Paulus Berenson author of 'Finding One's way With Clay' was a huge influence in the 70's. I loved his approach of continuing and constant practice which brings about a deepening of one's work. And in turn his inspiration from Martha Graham who demonstrated the essential significance of revealing the inner person in our work.

Berenson's book published in 1972, in spite of somewhat dated-looking black and white images, introduces the technique and meaning of pinching with a series of exercises which are timeless. As in meditation, pinching remains always a central 'support' to which one may return. Over the years, I have referred to this book often when teaching pinching to students, and now my assistants , Sandile and Adonis, are trying their hands(fingers actually!) at pinching.

Guldergaard

The rather strange legged platter displaying the sushi is one I made whilst doing a residency in 2001 at Guldergaard which is an international ceramic research centre in Skaelskor in Denmark. It was a period of great experimentation and I produced some exciting work. An important element in the residency was the food..we made wonderful meals in the dishes we had created, an inspiring marriage of form and function! The photo was posted by Karen-Lis Kirchhoff on her Facebook album and shared with me by Priscilla Mouritzen who initiated the residency for 9 South Africans at the time

POTS BY PRISCILLA MOURITZEN

EXHIBITION AT EBONY

These are pieces which will be on show at EBONY in Franschhoek, opening on Sunday 8th August. This work is part of a re-visited theme where I was exploring the Russian Suprematists, in particular Malevitch and Suetin. I love playing with the infinite possibilities of the circle, the square and the triangle.