CHARMAINE HAINES AT THE KKNK

The past weekend I visited an exhibition of current work by the well-known South African ceramist Charmaine Haines at the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunsfees (Little Karoo National Arts Festival) in Oudsthoorn(about 400 km from Cape Town). Charmaine's work is charming made with a strong sense of form and decoration, a pleasure to view that kind of maturity and skill in the ceramic medium.

To quote from her website
Working within the realm of figurative clay, Haines uses both abstract and stylised symbols and motives to embellish both her sculptural and utility forms. Vessels are thrown and altered incorporating sculptural elements and semi-reliefs. Coloured stains and natural oxide washes are used to further exemplify the manipulative and expressive qualitiy of the clay surface, including carving and textures showing a strong sense of surface pattern.