The Full Story

After many years of working as a professional photographer, I found a strong need to engage in the sense of touch. Through touch I find the body communicates with the soul, and I needed to create in a way that embraced that part of being human.

At a porcelain class I instantly felt an affinity for the material. Rolling out the porcelain transported me back to my childhood, rolling out pastry with my grandmother. It felt very familiar and once we got to surface decoration, I realised I had found a place where my printmaking and surface pattern experience made sense. 

Linocut’s coarse imperfections and surface texture (of the carved plates) have always appealed to me. In my current work I am still using my lino carving skills but transitioning to a new material. Coming from a rugged remote section of coast in South Africa, I find that things that are too refined no longer feel alive, while organic and imperfect is the most honest, most real and most relatable. In porcelain, I am exploring this push-and-pull between refined and raw; controlled and instinctive; tamed and free in what is traditionally a highly refined medium. 

I currently carve directly into porcelain forms with lino and ceramic tools, covering the surface with intuitive pattern and energetic texture influenced by my own printed lino textile designs. The surfaces have varied textural indentations but are smooth, matt and soothing to touch. Having lived in various parts of the world my cultural identity has become eclectic, and the language of pattern in my work does not subscribe to a specific culture but is instead universal. 

My vessels have gentle organic forms and human-made ‘irregularities’ that appeal to the senses and are endearing. Every piece is unique with its own individual sense of character. 

Get in touch

To find out more about individual pieces and how to purchase my work, please get in touch below.