THE CHARM OF EVERYDAY PIECES

This was a write-up by Judy Bryant(in the Cape Craft and Design Institute's March newsletter) on my exhibition a couple of months ago at the Irma Stern Museum.

TABLESCAPES

 You are invited to

TABLESCAPES

ceramics, still life and the turning world

An exhibition by
Clementina van der Walt

 To be opened by Wilma Cruise

at 11am

on Saturday 8th December 2012

Exhibition ends 19th January 2013

The UCT Irma Stern Museum


Opening Hours: Tuesday - Friday 10h00 - 17h00, Saturday 10h00 - 14h00
 Entrance  Adults @ R10 -  Pensioners & Learners @ R5

Cecil Road, Rosebank
Tel: +27(0)21 685 5686
www.irmastern.co.za

Tables kindly on loan from Design Afrika, Ebony, Lutge Gallery

www.clementina.co.za
 

KAROO - SKULLS AND BOWLS

I have recently been spending much time in the Klein Karoo, where the above skulls originate from. I have been somewhat inspired by the landscape there, and hence my 'Karoo Tablescape' which will form part of an exhibition I am having at The UCT Irma Stern Museum in December. Watch this space for more details...

STILL LIFE AT THE IRMA STERN MUSEUM

This is one of my 'after Irma' plates on show - 'Still life with Pomegranates'. I am sitting at the museum, reading about the life of Irma Stern and feeling an extraordinary sense of 'still life' in this haven away from the chaos of crazy Cape Town... There are many visitors coming constantly to see the show which is most encouraging, interesting and inspiring chatting to them.
'The artist creates in order to become free of himself, only to find himself again in the end' - Irma Stern, Umgababa 3rd September 1922

ZEN PRACTICE AT THE IRMA STERN MUSEUM

So I have been sitting the past week manning my and Hennie's show at The Irma Stern Museum and discovered that this is a perfect opportunity for meditation practice...
It goes like this:
I purchase some flowers from a store, and then I walk into the wonderful garden at the museum and pick a few small stems. I fill a watering can with fresh water.
I look at the wall of flower vases and carefully scan it looking for wilted or dying flowers.
I gently remove these and then empty the stale water into a bowl.
And then...and this is where the focus begins in earnest ...I carefully remove one vase at a time and fill it with water and replace it on the wall. The little pouch at the back is tiny and if one pours too fast it overflows. So this activity requires concentration and care.
I then sort out my flowers and cut and clip them to fit the vases. This feels like a zen activity, akin to the mindfulness applied in the tea ceremony or other meditation practices. Very present, being here now...

THE OTHER VOICE IN THE CONVERSATION

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These are images of some of Hennie Meyer's work on our show 'Ceramic Conversations' - although his work is very different from mine, in many ways it has been driven by a similar impetus.

The high quality of international craftsmanship and exploration of form and content, as well as exposure to historical ceramics via the wonderful London museums, has motivated both of us to internalise the awareness acquired through the experience and apply it in the South African context.

A PAUSE IN THE CONVERSATION

One of my exhibition panels titled 'Eden' - a new palette and introduction of some relief and botanical imagery

Post exhibition frenzy, this morning my partner Albie referred me to the following passage in Mario Vargas Llosa's The Storyteller - an apt reminder of the need to return to a sane life again!

"The most important thing is not be impatient and allow what must happen to happen....If a man lives calmly, without getting impatient, he has time to think and to remember.
That way, he'll meet his destiny, perhaps. He'll live content, maybe. He won't forget what he's learned.
If he gets impatient, rushing to outstrip time, the world gets out of order, it seems. (My emphasis)
And the soul falls into a spiderweb of mud.
That is confusion.... Then he doesn't know what to do, where to go. He doesn't know how to protect himself either, saying: What shall I do? What must I do?
Then the devils and the little devils creep into his life and play with it. The way, perhaps, that children play with frogs, making them jump. Mistakes are always the result of confusion, it seems."

CERAMIC CONVERSATIONS OPENING TONIGHT

Final touches done today, including placing 160 plus flowers in our wall of flower vases! I have to say - and I usually am far more reticent - that this is really an extraordinary show... More images of the exhibition will follow in the next days.

MORE CERAMIC CONVERSATIONS

These are some of the side plates for the dining room installation at The Irma Stern Museum

IMAGES FROM CERAMIC CONVERSATIONS

My work on this show seems rather diverse - in a way it is the result of many different creative directions...more to follow

CERAMIC CONVERSATIONS

This is a very frantic week finishing off work and setting up an exhibition at The Irma Stern Museum to open next week. This is a joint show together with Hennie Meyer, inspired by our annual 'pilgrimage' to participate in Ceramic Art London at the Royal College of Art. In the next few days - time permitting! - I will be posting images of the work to be exhibited , so if you can't get to the show, then watch this space!

CERAMIC CONVERSATIONS

An exhibition by Clementina van der Walt and Hennie Meyer

Reflections and influences inspired by an annual 'pilgrimage' to participate in Ceramic Art London at the Royal College of Art, London

To be opened by Robert Mulders, Chairperson of the Friends of the Iziko South African National Gallery

Tuesday, 14 December 2010

The UCT Irma Stern Museum

6.30 pm

Cecil Road, Rosebank, Cape Town 7700 Tel. 021 685 5686

Exhibition closes Saturday 15th January 2011

Furniture kindly loaned by Ebony

'DO NOT DISTURB...'

' DO NOT DISTURB ME, PLEASE' is the sign which hung at the entrance to the studio of Irma Stern, the famous South African painter. In December I will be exhibiting at the museum which bears her name and which was her home. For the occasion I am making a series of plates where I have used images of her works which hang in the house. The plan is to make a whole dinner table setting in the dining room to be titled something like 'Dinner with Irma Stern and friends'.

BLOOMSBURY AND IRMA STERN INSPIRATIONS

STILL LIFE ON MAJOLICA GLAZE

INSPIRED BY PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN BY IRMA STERN - MAJOLICA GLAZE, EARTHENWARE

Together with Hennie Meyer I will be exhibiting at The UCT Irma Stern Museum in December. I have been working for a while for this show, but recently had an exciting idea to make a table setting for the dining room in the museum using images from Irma Stern's portraits on some of the plates and Bloomsbury inspired images on others. These are two of the pieces.

Clementina at The Irma Stern Museum

H E A R T H

H E A R T H

H E A R T H

H E A R T H

An exhibition of ceramic panels and utilitarian objects

by Clementina van der Walt at The UCT Irma Stern Museum

to be opened on Wednesday 10th December 2008

by Professor Deborah Posel at 6.30 pm

Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research

University of the Witwatersrand

Cecil Road, Rosebank, 7700 Cape Town. Tel. 021 685 5686 Museum hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10 - 5 pm.

Exhibition closes Saturday 17th January 2009

Vintage furniture kindly loaned by Casamento

Inspired by Afrikan alphabets, Art Deco and Russian Suprematist images, Clementina van der Walt has created a body of work which explores the nostalgia and intimacy of the context of ‘home’. This theme is pursued both in composite tile panels, and in still life arrangements of groups of tableware. These utilitarian objects, displayed on items of vintage furniture, invite contemplation on the meaning of the everyday rituals of eating and drinking.
A variety of ceramic techniques have been used to create the forms, the surfaces of which express a rich tapestry of colours, textures and patterns in the artist’s signature style.