HERMANUS – Catherine Brennon’s love for ceramics has a come a long way.
The Hermanus-based potter and ceramic artist was born in King William’s Town, and her family moved to Benoni, Gauteng when she was 3 years old. She later studied ceramics and was a potter for a few years in Johannesburg.
According to Brennon, painting ceramics is not an easy profession; it doesn’t generate a huge income. She says most people have no idea of the long process it is to complete a pot or sculpture.
“Once you have made the form it needs to be bisque fired (1 000 ºC) to change the body from clay to ceramic and make it solid, but still porous enough to absorb glaze for the second firing. The glaze firing temperature (1 050-1 300 ºC) depends on the clay used (earthenware, stoneware or porcelain), and can be a highly specialised and scientific process.”
Her most recent work has been making organic forms that echo the rhythms of nature around her. “They sometimes look like seed pod or maybe sea urchins. For these I use multiple glazes to create a depth to a glaze.
“These are the kind of pieces I have recently exhibited at Hermanus Fynarts, on its online site. Living between the mountains and the sea is very inspiring, and each piece I make informs the next one.
Brennon says from her early days in ceramics in the late 1970s she has exhibited regularly through Ceramics South Africa. “It is a good showcase for ceramics and is an active society regularly giving workshops, exhibitions and markets.”
Currently, Ceramics South Africa has an online exhibition until Wednesday 8 July for the Western Cape, through Rust-en-Vrede Gallery in Durbanville.
“On it you will see several pieces of mine, including the piece I won a second Merit Prize for.” Brennon holds that exhibiting ceramics online can be quite challenging, for ideally one needs to hold a piece to explore it in full, feel the weight in your hands and see the nuances of the glazes close up.
“Good photographs become essential in this process, and I have had the wonderful benefit of being married to a professional photographer! In the current circumstances we have to accept that online is the only tangible way to sell art right now.”
She says many artists, herself included, have struggled with their confidence over the last few months. “We need the affirmation that what we make is good and desirable, and this is what sales represent.”
Brennon, however, firmly believes ceramics is a beautiful form of art, her passion, and something she will continue to do for many years to come.
