Ceramic Arts Daily

Artists Statement: I had to overcome technical challenges in all aspects of ceramic at the beginning of my career. There was little time to pay attention to artistic matters. My work changed over the years from stark and clumsy pots to elegant expressive pieces of art and I realized that I was expressing the surroundings in which I grew up. While living in South Africa I became aware of the rhythm of nature. Rhythmic ripples in sand dunes and dry river beds in the semi-desert areas of Namibia, warped and gnarled trees, struggling for survival and varying stones, stacked on top of each other or scattered guilelessly by Mother Nature, was part of my everyday experience. Mississippi with its singing Mockingbird and luscious trees exposed me to different rhythms and new nuances developed often in my work. Tornadoes, abundant water and extreme climate changes offer new opportunities for expression. Now, living in Chicago where I am adjusting to the long and harsh winters, I am still in awe when the first snow of the season brings a peace and quietness over the city. Summer and winter are equally beautiful and I started to incorporate the beauty of it all into my works. If some elements from my experiences are apparent in my ceramic art and people can connect with those aspects of my life, I would consider myself successful.

Current Work: Translucent porcelain vessels wheel thrown and press molded, often adjusted and/or combined with each other. Small teapots; the artist pay special attention to lids, spouts and handles as if it will be functioning to hold and pout tea.

Work availability: Please contact artist at porcelainbyAntoinette21@comcast.net for latest exhibition schedules and availability of work.

Workshop information: Antoinette focuses mostly on the following: - To throw and trim porcelain to become thin and translucent - To create press molds and use them in combination with hand building, pinching and wheel thrown techniques - To alter and manipulate porcelain - To use paper porcelain to her advantage - Porcelain teapots Workshops can be adjusted to suit the needs of attendances Internationally available Technical Information Translucent wheel thrown and/ or press molded porcelain vessels and teapots, fired to 1268-1280 C (electric).The artist mostly use basic glazes with stains added to the interior of vessels and polished on the outside. Teapots are glazed all over. Background History Antoinette is a native from South Africa, Afrikaans speaking, and currently living in Chicago, USA. Her career as ceramic artist started in 1981 when she took basic pottery classes. Her teaching studio was founded in 1985 and she taught pottery to children and adults in formal and informal environments. After immigrating to the USA, she taught potters in workshops, demonstrations and presentations in her studio as well as in schools and colleges across the USA. She obtained permanent residency for her family because of her extraordinary ability in the field of ceramic Mostly self-taught, she attended shortened classes and workshops by acclaimed leaders in the ceramic profession. During her teaching career, she wrote several articles in Afrikaans and English and had her work published in several books and magazines. She was also featured on local TV stations. She did group and one-man shows in South Africa, United States and Japan and her award winning work are in several collections across the world. She specialized in porcelain clay, first primitively fired and later with translucent porcelain, specifically Southern Ice. Her recent assignment to research and write articles for the Pottery Making Illustrated, gave her special insight in several ^6 porcelain clay bodies from Laguna and Standard Ceramic.