5th World Ceramic Biennale, Korea

I am honoured to have this piece of mine selected for the 5th World Ceramic Biennale in Korea (CEBIKO). In total 186 pieces were selected out of 3196 pieces submitted. The exhibition will run at the Icheon World Ceramic Center from April 25th to June 21st, 2009

Rows of Blank Canvasses

These pieces have been fired to 1000 C ready to be fettled and then decorated. Because of the lack of green strength the body is first fired before any fettling is carried out using wet waterproof sanding paper. Once dry the pieces are decorated first with a wax resist and then painted with various soluble salt solutions. Thereafter the work is fired to 1250 C to achieve vitrification and translucency

New Work at Objekt

Some of my most recent work can be seen at Objekt on 7th Avenue in Parktown North, the new design hub of Johannesburg. This venue is a real treasure trove and if you haven't yet been in, a treat awaits you.

Fresh From the Kiln

These pots have just come from the kiln . I am impressed with the increased translucency in these pieces. I am forever experimenting, looking for ways of improving what I do, and this time I altered the firing schedule quite extensively. Thank goodness these things sometimes pay off!

Why Soluble Salts?

Because the metallic salts that I use for the decoration of my work are soluble they add a quality that could not be achieved with traditional oxide decoration. They are absorbed into the body and interact with each other reminiscent of watercolour painting. As you can see from the detail shown, the term watercolors on porcelain used to describe this technique is very apt.

Why Bone China?

Ever since my first experimentation with porcelain bodies, my quest has been the pursuit of whiteness and translucency. Unfortunately in South Africa, where I work, the local kaolins are not very pure. The idea of importing a kaolin did not appeal to me as I have always been determined to make my bodies using local materials. After achieving limited success with porcelain tests, cream rather than white and little, if any, translucency, I experimented with a few bone china recipes.

From the first tests the results were incredible. Whiteness that I had only imagined. It transpires that the bone ash, which makes up a large part of the body, has a bleaching effect on any iron traces in the kaolin, producing a body of extreme whiteness and increased translucency. Recently I have started adding bentonite to the body to increase green-strength. Bentonite, which itself contains small quantities of iron usually making porcelain tests creamier, rendered the bone china, if anything, whiter than it was before the addition.

Currently On Show

A few pieces of my work can currently be seen on the group exhibition 'Oppitafel' at Artspace, 142 Jan Smuts Avenue in Parkwood, Johannesburg. Other Ceramics on show are by: Eugene Hon, Deon De Lange, Karen Sinovich and Nicolene Swanepoel.