Artist Cheryl Malone is best known for her ceramic vessels, hand-painted with intricate detail to create a stunning visual effect.

She recently showed us her versatility as an artist with the following three freehand ink drawings on paper. As you can see, a good synergy exists between the ceramic vessels and the drawings, but they easily stand alone as well.

These works form part of a series of approximately 45 drawings, which was started by Cheryl last year.

The first series of similar drawings was shown at Everard Read Gallery a while back and we look forward to the exhibition of this new series.

You can view more work from the wonderfully talented Cheryl Malone here:

GIPCA and Michaelis Galleries present 10 years ON, a group show of members of the Michaelis School of Fine Art, class of 2001.

It is curated by Andrew Lamprecht, with co-curator Jessa Mockridge. It opens on 2 March at the Michaelis Main Gallery, and is presented in association with the Gordon Institute of Performing Arts (GIPCA).

An unusually large proportion of the students who graduated from the Michaelis School of Fine Art in the year 2001 went on to become noted, at times even notorious, artists in the South African and international art scene.

The exhibition 10 years ON celebrates these graduates of 2001 and the impact that they have had on the South African art world in the decade since their graduation. In showing recent work by some of these former students, now professional practitioners, curator Andrew Lamprecht also considers the influences on, and reasons for, these artists’ prominence.

Lamprecht himself has taken a front-row seat in the South African art world, with numerous noteworthy projects, conference papers and publications to his name. He, like many of the artists who will be represented in 10 years ON, is associated with an off-beat, challenging, and cutting–edge approach to art.

This exhibition was inspired by a project that Michaelis student Jessa Mockridge produced as part of her studies in 2010, and Mockridge also acts as co-curator on the exhibition.

10 years ON will be on at the Michaelis Main Gallery from 2 – 29 March, and is presented by the Michaelis Gallery in partnership with GIPCA.

What do finely crocheted thread earrings, a protea constructed from the pages of a magazine, and a mosaic inspired by a sangoma all have in common?

These are some of the 47 objects that make up the Cape Craft & Design Institute’s annual Handmade Exhibition Collection. The Collection, selected from 215 entries, was unveiled to the public at the Design Indaba Expo, which ran from 25 to 27 February at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

The Handmade Collection, now in its third year, is the premier showcase of the Cape Craft and Design Institute (CCDI), which is a Section 21 company set up ten years ago by the Province and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology to promote and grow the craft and design sector.

The selection panel was made up of individuals from various arts, culture and media institutions, who looked for superb design, excellent craftsmanship and a high degree of innovation,  said the CCDI’s Communications manager Marjorie Naidoo.

“The focus is on only the very best handmade objects and we are confident that this outstanding collection will prove the relevance, creativity and collectability of handmade products. As this exhibition encourages producers and designer makers to push their creative boundaries, new marketable products often flow from this event.”

This year’s collection includes works by many established craft producers and designer makers  such as ceramicist Hennie Meyer and fabric designer Jane Solomon, who submitted a seat upholstered in a new fabric inspired by indigenous birds.

Jane Solomon: Indigenous birds upholstered seat. Image by Eric Miller

There were also newcomers such as City Varsity student Amy Rusch who made a crown of wire, cotton thread and recycled magazine paper – “a playful object made for the fun of stitching.”

Amy Rusch: wire, cotton thread and recycled magazine paper crown. Image by Eric Miller

‘Up-cycling’ and ‘repurposing’ is  a common theme,  with winning entries including  a large bottle cap and wire basket by Phanny Mangwiro,  and a cupboard made from antique wooden printers’ trays by Kate Thompson of Recreate.

Recreate: cupboard made from antique wooden printers’ trays. Image by Eric Miller

There is even an evening suit embroidered in African designs and decorated with appliquéd images, recycled buttons and plastic. The suit was inspired by traditional Cockney pearly kings and queens, whose clothes are decorated with thousands of pearl buttons.  This was designed by Monique Fagan, produced by Lizzie Ngwenya of the Leechar Homes craft collective in Heideveld, with skills training funded by the Kommetjie Environmental Awareness Group (KEAG).

Some of the more unusual items include a mechanical head made from stoneware clay “showing the cogs expressing the inner workings of the mind”, according to its creator Alessandro Pappada, and colourful skulls embroidered on felt by Nicola de Jager of Calavera.

Lifestyle and homeware items include finely wrought jewellery, lighting, a merino wool and mohair handbag (Bridget Henderson of cowgirlblues), ceramics, exquisite hand-blown vases (Elizabeth Lacey of Red Hot Glass), a large wirework chair by Willard Musarurwa and maple and rosewood candlesticks by Bert Parker.

Red Hot Glass: hand-blown vases. Image by Eric Miller

Orders can be placed with the craft producers directly, or through the CCDI.

The Cape Craft and Design Institute (CCDI)
75 Harrington Street, East City, Cape Town

Phone: +27 21 461 1488 – Fax: +27 21 461 1228 www.capecraftanddesign.org.za

To contact Derric or view his complete portfolio on Cape Town Creatives, click here.

Cape Town Creatives caught up with Illustrator and Artist Doug Powell to see what he’s been working on in the last few months. Here are a few snippets from his illustration and fine art portfolio.

Hyundai print ad. Doug illustrated the crest and the artvaark. According to feedback from the ad agency, the ad was such a success that Hyundai sold out of all their Getz stock.

Because of this, a similar ad followed a few weeks later with a dolphin.

La Motte wine estate recently launched their new farm shop. Doug illustrated this beautiful logo. The brief from the design studio was to depict all facets of their estate and produce in the logo.

During the Soccer World Cup, Doug handled the illustrations for several controversial Kulula Sunday Times ads.

In keeping with the Soccer World Cup… an illustration for a wine label.

Emma – a fine art charcoal commission completed last week.

Roses from Doug’s garden… demanded a quick pastel – Saturday morning 24-Oct.

Doug has been working on a series of horses (oil on canvas) in his spare time. They seem to be evolving with brush strokes becoming more representative of the muscles. A large series is planned.

Doug’s Chow Chow – afternoon snooze.  A large charcoal sketch done some weekends back (900 x 650).

To contact Doug Powell or view his complete portfolio on Cape Town Creatives, click here.

The public are invited to attend the opening reception of the exhibition:

JILL TRAPPLER – FLOATING UNDERWATER DREAMING

Opening: Sunday 10 October 2010, 11h00 –13h00

Duration of the exhibition: 11 October 2010 – 30 January 2011

The four paintings, called “I see the dreams of water, I see water dreaming” flowed onto the canvases one after the other over a year or so. There was no tension in the making but rather hours of interaction with surface, water and paint. Each painting was received by Clare, the composer with such enthusiasm; her composition and the corresponding image were then sent to Darius, a birynė virtuoso (the birynė is a traditional Lithuanian reed pipe). I cannot explain how they heard the colour and movement that I was working with but they did. Nick immediately saw the potential for a multi media digital piece made from taking photographs of each painting and using the music to frame the movements. Nick has delicately shifted the mark with the rhythms into gentle adventures for the eye. In all, time is suspended, there is reflection which seems to speak to the dynamic between flow and movement of paint, sound and its intimate relationship with colour, the breath through the birbyne, holds the earthy material like quality in the paintings. Is it light and texture that keeps matter so fluid? Jill Trappler – jill@jilltrappler.co.za

The four Floating Underwater pieces seek to reflect the sensual flow of water in Trappler’s paintings. The gentle, wooden sound of the birbynė seemed to me to fit the movement of the paint on the canvas. Each piece is written to capture one or two aspects of a painting, seeking to evoke sunlight dancing on moving water, for example, or a moment of repose in quiet blue, the dark undertows in a rushing river, or the playful twists in a swirling rock pool. Clare Loveday – clareloveday@wol.co.za

The creative ideas of two South African artists – Clare Loveday and Jill Trappler, who inspired me as a performer and interpreter, were like a voyage into an unknown land. The unpredictable and bristling structure and melodic flexibility of Loveday’s compositions echo perfectly Trappler’s visual ideas and brought me to the yet unknown spaces of senses and colours.

While interpreting and making recordings I used two “scores”: the sheet music of Clare’s works and the photographs of Jill’s pictures. All of this helped me to include the third element into the creative process, namely, my instrument, the birbynė. Darius Klisys -  studiodk@takas.it

The way the art, music and motion came together felt like a very natural process. I felt that the video should echo the musical and artistic journey and not hijack it. There was no real brief, so I just immersed myself in the art and the music and followed the path.
Nick Potgieter – info@nickpotgieter.co.za

SEIPPEL GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG
Seippel Gallery at Arts on Main
40 Berea Street crn. 245 Main Street
CBD & Suburban Johannesburg, 2094
Secure Parking Available
Tel: 011 334 60 23, Cell: 076 916 0157
seippelgallery@gmail.com
www.seippel-gallery.com/
Opening hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday:10h00–16h00,
Thursday 11h00–19h00 and Sunday 11h00–14h00

To contact Alex Wiid or view her complete portfolio on Cape Town Creatives, click here.

To view Judy Conway’s complete portfolio on Cape Town Creatives, click here.

One Roof Studio at the Old Biscuit Mill has launched a new teaching space!
Things are going really well at One Roof – we can’t believe we have been running for a year already!
So many people who visited our space saw the possibilities for teaching, but the layout never really ‘worked’. We have now split our open plan space in two – allowing for both a teaching space and still plenty of room for our resident artists.

The teaching space is available to rent on a per-session basis with no contract or long term commitment.
We also still have two ‘resident’ artist spaces open – come and be a part of our creative environment, all working under One Roof. At present we have 2 ceramicists, 3 painters, a jeweller and a designer.
Give Alex a call on 072 721 6446, or visit the website for more info and some pics of the space www.oneroof.co.za

Recognise this Jumbo? That’s because it now stands in front of the departures terminal at Cape Town International Airport as a graceful reminder of our African heritage. You may even have been privileged to witness an unusual sight when this giant bronze beauty was transported to the airport on the back of a truck. The sculpture was created by distinguished artist Jean Doyle who is well known for her sculpture of Just Nuisance in Simon’s Town and more recently for her bronze portrayal of Nelson Mandela.

Not only does the elephant sculpture contribute to the aesthetics of the airport, it will also be used to help raise funds for the Out of Africa Children’s fund. Members of the public can drop their donations into the tree stump collection box next to the elephant. In addition, the elephant, worth more than R4 million will be auctioned at the end of the year and the funds raised will go to charity.