About me
My path to clay
With a background in crafts, I got into ceramics with an air of resignation, almost. My first love was bookbinding, followed by metal forging, and woodwork. I'd been extremely fortunate to work with master craftsmen in their field in Stockholm, but when I came home to South Africa, adulthood set in and bills needed paying. I began working as a journalist in IT, but felt the urgent need to create. My mum, a potter, convinced me that clay didn't have to be clumsy and rough. In desperation, I joined a pottery studio, and discovered something deeply satisfying in hand-building with clay. With a gentle push from my teacher, Digby Hoets, I had a whirl on the wheel. And the rest, as they say, was true love. Meanwhile, my work-life wove through corporate meanderings and to my own (coffee) business. A move to the UK and other unexpected turns, led me to a little space I can call my own, a precious pottery studio from where I create my pieces.
And as you'll see here, I firmly believe that every pot will find its lid.
Approach to my work
I'm practical, so my work tends to be useful, even if the use is to harbour small treasures. Or sugar. Clay as a material is earthy and so versatile. From the rustic to the delicate, pushing the clay into the craftsman's potential, gives me great joy. My happiest, is seeing someone pick up one of my pieces and feel its weight and shape, and how their hands mould around it and make it warm.
My work ranges from useful ceramics to less-useful ceramics that are perhaps prettier and more whimsical, but less practical.