By Marica

There were more or less 17 stands devoted to ceramics at this year’s Expo. Immensely popular and usually exceptionally crowded, I had the rare luck of strolling through the ceramic section whilst it was relatively quiet. This allowed me to have a good look.

I was exceedingly impressed with not only the talent but also the diversity of the ceramics on display. It was also nice to see the well-known familiar faces like Sootcookie, Tamarillo Ceramics and Liesel Trautman intermixed with other talented established ceramicists that are (sadly and undeservedly) lesser-known.

As time permits me from giving you a breakdown of all seventeen, here are the two stands who’s designs made the greatest impression on me…

Clay Art by Sonja Moore:

My favourite stand in this category was occupied by Rondebosch ceramicist, Sonja Moore and her beautiful ceramics.

Her beautiful tableware range, which consists of bowls, plates, dishes, mugs and platters, features bird-on-a-wire imagery which is her current signature design. Each piece is 100% handmade which gives it a rather organic character. The range is also dishwasher and oven safe and is available in 5 glaze colours – white, aqua, grey, and now also in ocean melt, and drips & splatters.

What really grab my attention were Sonja’s gorgeous hand-painted vases. Beautifully “illustrated”, she uses a layering process to add colour, texture and visuals to the vases. Her ongoing theme of “freedom, sprout and grow” is quite evident in these delicate whimsical pieces of art. And of course, I think the Spring-coloured combos are simply stunning!

Mervyn Gers Collective:

Another serious head-turner was the combined works of Mervyn Gers along with ceramicists Diana Ferreira, and Karen Kotze of Woven Ceramics. The combination worked together quite beautifully – Mervyn’s beautifully decorated pieces with bold crisp graphics; Diana’s gorgeous earthy, slightly rustic vessels; and Karen’s lovely organic pieces with feminine floral designs.

The show-stealer was Mervyn’s Koi and Blue Willow set which won the prestigious Best Decorated Award at the Ceramics South Africa Cape Regional last year. The detail in this intricate orient-inspired set is quite breathtaking.

Now, I’ve bookmarked these two and most of the other ceramicists and I’ll be keeping a close eye on them. Which means – hopefully many lovely updates and features to follow!

Be sure to keep in touch with Sonja and Mervyn on their Facebook pages here:

Clay Art by Sonja Moore

Mervyn Gers Ceramics

 

Images via Sonja Moore and Mervyn Gers Facebook page

 

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