MEMBER PROFILES

“Art is a route of discovery. The discovery of materials, techniques, ideas and myself. My art and I continue to be a work in progress.” Lerentia Basson obtained her BA (Ed) Arts degree from the University of Pretoria. She honed her ceramic sculpting skills studying with the renowned sculptor Charles Gotthard, and worked as his assistant before leaving for Europe in 19…

John Bauer is one of those individuals for whom ceramics is a mere vehicle for the kaleidoscope of ideas he exhales everyday. He is strangely focused on a bizarre and very secretive brand of technical skill in ceramics; although this focus on technical anomalies of clay, glass and heat, does not distract one iota from the heart of his pieces. His pieces exude emotion. They…

Bruce Bell is primarily a ceramic artist and loves the bright bold colours of our sun blest Africa. His studio, Redhill Pottery, is situated on the border of Cape Point Nature Reserve and is a wonderful place in which to work and draw inspiration from nature. Combine this with the casual life style of the Deep South and you have a unique result. His work ranges from tradit…

The Advanced Learn & Earn phase of the Ceramics learnership based at the Noordhoek campus of False Bay College has been up and running since November 2005. This team of talented and skilled Ceramics trainees have launched their own business initiative, , so named as it reflects their aspirations: Zizamele means ‘to try for yourself”. The team comprises of 5…

I see myself as a sculptor and artist and work in clay as well as metal. I used to make jewellery and sculptures with brass and copper and exhibited at the Grahamstown Art Festival on a regular basis during the 80′s and 90′s. It is only recently that I started working with clay and I’m mostly self-taught. After 13 years in the corporate world I decided to…

Ralph was born in Johannesburg and matriculated from Athlone Boys High School in 1961. He obtained his B.D.S. : University of the Witwatersrand in 1967. In 1984 he received an honours degree in ceramics from the University of Natal (Pietermaritzburg) cum laude. In 1992 he attained his Masters degree in Ceramic Design from the Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, Engla…

I started doing pottery in 1991 when a friend decided to give lessons. I joined her class and enjoyed the feel of the clay and the thrill of being creative. From there I went to Graham and Kim Bolland’s classes, then to Angelique Kirk, where I was introduced to porcelain. I loved the soft, smooth feel of this clay and the way it looked when it was fired and glazed. In 19…

Wendy has always loved old china, and for years she has collected all sorts of tea pots.  She started her small company in 2006, first making ceramic cupcake candleholders, and then slices of cake, which also held candles.  “So I called my company Homebakes: I was after all making cakes, in my kiln at home, out of clay.”  From there it grew to include tea se…

Betsy attended the P J Olivier Art School, Stellenbosch (extramural) from Grade 1 – Grade 12. Her mother had her own pottery studio, where Betsy worked until she started her own studio in 1983. Betsy attended many workshops and courses during those years and obtained an N4 in ceramics with distinction from the Cape college under Dr Ralph Johnson. Since 1991 she has o…

I have been producing ceramics since the 1980′s and have held solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group exhibitions. I have always loved to make things. My work is in many people’s homes all over the world, and I hope it brightens up their day. I make functional ware in porcelain. The work is slipcast in moulds and this gives me the smooth surfaces, c…

Janie Siebert studied Graphic Design and Art,in the late70′s, concentrating on Illustration. After work in Advertising and a Graphic Studio, and life in rural Transkei, she returned to Cape Town and set up ‘The Handpaint’d House’ Studio. She explores with stoneware and porcelain clays as surfaces on which to design, creating irregular, one-off platt…

Elsa verLoren van Themaat (Mrs Klump) or “THEMART” OBJECTIVE: Each project in my career, I believe forms part of a whole and moves towards my objective. To pursue effective quality in art, craft, interiors and tourism with a South African flavour and thereby linking us internationally. This is aimed to serve the uniqueness of the individual, the economy of our communit…

Kendal Warren works in earthenware and stoneware clay, using various hand building techniques. Her inspiration comes from many sources, including textile designs, traditional African prints and various other needlecrafts, such as embroidery, appliqué and quilting. Kendal has taken part in numerous exhibitions and has received many awards including being the recipient of t…

Tessa Whyatt is an eclectic artist. She started pottery with Kim Sachs in Johannesburg, then specialised in Ceramics during her art foundation at Central Saint Martin’s in London. She followed this with a B.A. Fine Arts at the University of Cape Town specialising in sculpture. Tessa also has a Masters in Art Therapy at the University of Hertfordshire, U.K. and is a Time …