Something about myself
I live and work on a small farm in Stellenbosch and I am very blessed to be surrounded by a loving family consisting of my husband Danie, 5 sons , 5 daughters [ in laws ] and 7 grand children.
My studio is spacious, full of light, with magnificent views on a vineyard, dam and the surrounding mountains.
I am a potter as well as a painter. I think in a way it is like having two children – They are different, but I love them equally, and each one occupies a special place in my heart.
My maiden name was Vermooten, and I grew up in Coligny, a small town in North West. Art was not part of the school curriculum but I always had a sketchbook at hand .My favourite subject was biology, not only because of my love for nature but also because we had to make sketches of the plants ,insects etc.
After graduating at the University of Pretoria I enrolled for a further year and achieved a national diploma in higher education.
I live and work on a small farm in Stellenbosch and I am very blessed to be surrounded by a loving family consisting of my husband Danie, 5 sons , 5 daughters [ in laws ] and 7 grand children.
My studio is spacious, full of light, with magnificent views on a vineyard, dam and the surrounding mountains.
I am a potter as well as a painter. I think in a way it is like having two children – They are different, but I love them equally, and each one occupies a special place in my heart.
My maiden name was Vermooten, and I grew up in Coligny, a small town in North West. Art was not part of the school curriculum but I always had a sketchbook at hand .My favourite subject was biology, not only because of my love for nature but also because we had to make sketches of the plants ,insects etc.
After graduating at the University of Pretoria I enrolled for a further year and achieved a national diploma in higher education.
Ceramics
I started doing ceramics while we lived in Amanzimtoti in Kwazulu Natal. My first tutor was Margaret Maritz. I fell in love with the whole process of transforming a lump of clay into a bowl, platter or vase. Very soon I was completely hooked and acquired my own potter’s wheel and kiln. After moving to Pretoria I had the privilege to go to master potter Elza Sullivan for classes. I work in stoneware and porcelain and produce work on the wheel as well as by hand and sculpting. I do not use moulds – every piece is uniquely made, decorated and glazed. My love for painting is reflected in the way I decorate my pieces. The stoneware is fired to high temperatures and are both functional and decorative. I have very recently bought a reduction kiln from Elza Sullivan and am tremendously excited about the whole prospect of firing the gas kiln. The kiln has not been installed yet, but I hope to do my first firing by early April 2013. I trust that every person who buys and uses my pottery will get as much pleasure from it as I had while I was creating it. |
Paintings
Ten years ago I started painting in oils and a wonderful different world opened for me. I attended Pieter Vermaak’s art school and under his tutelage I developed my own unique impressionistic style. My inspiration is my surroundings –the beautiful scenery of the Western Cape, people working in the vineyards, my love for gardening, festive tables, flowers, birds, poetry and often my imagination. My work has been bought by South Africans as well as by international tourists and is sold in galleries, at exhibitions and from my studio at Aan de Vliet in Stellenbosch. |
