For two North Coast ceramicists, the age-old craft and art form of pottery has inspired their creativity and style for many years, moulding their names locally and internationally, writes Shirley le Guern.
“Clay is a wonderful form of therapy. There is something about the feel of the earth in your hands and the potential it holds. Clay demands your undivided attention and never more so than on the potters’ wheel. It is the most demanding discipline because, like any skill, it takes practice, practice and more practice, keeping you humble and patient at all times,” says Brenda Kühn, who works and teaches at her Westbrook studio.
Together with Jo-Anne Kuter, chair of the local branch of the Ceramics Society of South Africa, she is working hard to not only grow awareness of this age-old craft and art form, but also to encourage local talents to put their work on the map.
Brenda started her ceramics journey in 2008 and loves wheelwork and experimenting with form and glazes.
“A friend invited me to join her at her pottery class and I’ve never looked back. I now have my own studio at the bottom of my garden and amazing students I am privileged enough to share the love of clay with,” she says.
For Brenda, both function and form are important. She draws a lot of inspiration from her garden, so the natural progression was from mugs and bowls towards bud vases in blues and greens.
She now sells her pieces at galleries and exhibitions.
You can only have so many cups, saucers and jugs in your home and give so many away to friends and family, smiles Durban North ceramicist Jo-Anne Kuter.
Although she, too, began taking pottery lessons with well-known ceramicist, Corrie Hook, as a hobbyist in 2010, she soon realised she had discovered a whole new passion which has taken her on an interesting journey that began with selling her distinctive blue and white creations at various local markets and has culminated in her work finding its way into art galleries.
Working in finance in Durban Central during the 80s, Jo-Anne spent many lunchtimes in fabric shops as part of her love for patchwork. She also made porcelain dolls. Her discovery of ceramics was a natural next step.
“I’ve always been artistic and loved anything that’s creative. I’ve always drawn and doodled,” she explains.
These doodles made their way into her distinctive work. Initially, she worked only in blue and white. “I work in porcelain as I love the purity of the medium and my constant doodling has been translated into my many patterns.
“Blue on white is influenced by the beautiful work of the Chinese Dynasties but interpreted in my style. I am obsessed with lines and the millions of designs they create. I love the fact that I have never repeated a pattern and each piece is a unique part of me that will be cherished and used by whoever owns it,” she says.
Although Jo-Anne started out with slab work which is largely hand formed, she soon realised that this did not gel with her more geometric style and turned to creating wheel thrown items which were more symmetrical. These are thrown for her by the talented Ivin Molefe.
When Jo-Anne couldn’t source white clay in South Africa in 2018, she began working with raku clay sourced from potter Lindsay Scott in Lidgetton.
“I started to play with it and quickly realised that my black lines did this incredible thing, creating beautiful back shadows in the clay.” She added bright colours and her second signature collection was born.
A lot of that work goes to the KNSA Gallery. “I call it my African work with a modern twist. I bring in the geometrical shapes and colours which are more African and then add flowers which are more European. So, it is a combination of two influences,” she explains.
Jo-Anne continues with her blue and white creations and has since added a white-on-white collection. Some items are exactly that while others may have brightly coloured inners.
Overall, she describes her style as quite eclectic. “My work is quite busy. Initially, I was afraid that some people would not like this. Then it dawned on me there are busy people and there are calm people. Some people like everything white, grey, beige while others like colour. There has to be something for everyone and I’ve just learnt to embrace that,” she says.