Ardmore Ceramics

View in collection The Ardmore Ceramic Art Studio is in the foothills of the dramatic Drakensberg Mountains, north of Durban in South Africa.   In 1985 Fèe Halstead-Berning, who had studied fine art and an advanced diploma in ceramics at the University of Natal, started to develop the organic ceramic style, incorporating the local South African flora and fauna. Fèe trained an apprentice Bonnie Ntshalintshali, the daughter of a farm employee who had survived polio as a child but was too weak to undertake physical farm work. Bonnie encouraged Fèe to train other farm workers and together they ran the studio establishing Ardmore as South Africa’s largest and most renowned ceramics studio. Rather than drawing on the tradition of African shapes, the Ardmore ware shows influences of European traditions and the Staffordshire flatbacks. Coming from the local Zulu villages, each artist brings their own particular style to sculpting and painting. Most pieces are made by collaboration of two to three artists. The Ardmore studio in the Drakensberg Mountains now provides employment for many men and women and has two other studios in Lidgeton which opened in 2005.   Victor Shabalala is one of the expressionist sculptors who joined Ardmore in 2001. Victor is a passionate artist who enjoys pushing the plasticity of clay to its limits. Fish and reptiles are recurring themes in his work. His work is exhibited in Christie's of London, and sold internationally. Lovemore Sithole was born in 1962 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and joined Ardmore as a thrower in 2007. He is known for his spectacular large tureens. Mbusi Mfuphi was born in Estcourt and joined Ardmore’s studio as a decorator in the ‘Berg in 2000, moving to Caversham when the ‘Berg studio closed down in 2009. She was taught to paint by one of Ardmore’s leading painters, Jabu Nene.

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