Shongweni potter offers special pieces to collectors

RENOWNED Shongweni ceramicist Andrew Walford is back in his studio after a recent devastating fire that destroyed his home in July.

The artist is now offering pieces from his personal collection for sale and will shortly be travelling to Johannesburg, together with wife Leanda, for an exhibition.

Walford says, “I always put special pieces aside from each firing. Now I’m getting older, and things have happened, so I’ve decided to let people enjoy the previously reserved pieces from my collection. I’m offering them for sale rather than hoarding them. People seem to appreciate the gesture. We’ve recently had clients from Cornwall, and they were very pleased to be able to select items from there. Not many artists keep reserved items from their decades of work.”

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The artist maintains that his work varies from year to year.

“I dig my own clay in the midlands; I make my own glazes; I build the kilns myself, and each firing is different. Each year produces different results.”

The potter’s output has been severely impacted by the current Eskom load-shedding and the fire on his property. Walford says it has been several months since he last fired up his kilns to produce new pieces.

“For firing my big tiles, I start warming up the kiln in the afternoon. I switch on the oil burners at 22:00, and they burn right through to the morning. Then I switch on more oil burners and build up the temperature and hold that through the next night. The thing is that the tiles could crack easily if the heat drops, and they cool too quickly. I can’t take the chance of the power going off mid-firing,” says Walford.

The potter says his creative endeavors would be impossible without input from those around him, and he feels his unique firing method has been a collaborative process.

“You can’t do it without friends who give you a little tip here and there. My very high firing beams are made from crystallised silicon carbide, which take temperatures of up to 1 500 degrees. This makes them white hot. I put three of those in each shelf layer, then I put in these special thin tiles which don’t bend, and I make shelves and platforms with them. The kiln shelves were suggested by a friend who has a factory making bulletproof vests. Another friend showed me how to crush up fire bricks, to make a fine sand that means I can slide the tiles into the kiln over the crushed bricks,” says Walford.

“The other thing that was a huge breakthrough was the paper clay, which I picked up from an international magazine. I mix good quality paper into the clay which provides the fibre that holds it all together. A Vryheid farmer pointed out a way of making my basins in a way that makes it easier to cut tiles to fit neatly underneath the rims. You get clues from everyone,” says Walford.

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Walford has been drawn to Asian influences throughout his illustrious career.

“I love brushwork. For me, it feels like the perfect stroke makes music that you can hear. No shops stock the brushes I need, and if you buy them in Japan, they are expensive, but I have a friend who does Mongolia trips in a Landrover. When he travels there, he brings incredible brushes back for me. Art is a journey,” says the potter.

Walford said that he trained under famous South African artist Mary Stainbank and is grateful to the other greats like Bernard Leith and Shoji Hamoda, who have influenced his work.

To make a purchase from Andrew Walford’s special collection, contact: andrew@andrewwalford.co.za.