Field Note · Inspiration

Inspiration from nature

Lichen, weathered rock and the colours I return to when working with clay.

Orange lichen across fractured rock, with green foliage and fine shadows

Yellow lichen spreading in irregular patches across grey and reddish rock — Yellow on grey · colour following a surface

Pale green and white lichen across dark textured rock — Pale greens and white · layers, edges and texture

The landscape I come from is rich in mountains and fynbos, with warm reds, pale greens and earthen colours. I look for that earthiness in the glazes, forms and textures I make.

These photographs bring that interest into focus: orange across a fractured rock, yellow against grey, and pale green and white lichen spreading over a darker surface. The colour changes with the texture underneath it.

In ceramics, I’m interested in that same relationship between a surface and what it carries. A ridge gives glaze somewhere to gather; an edge lets it thin. The colour and the form develop together through making.

As an architect, I notice how bricks change from place to place because of the clay used to make them. Working with clay brings that connection close. Landscape is a reference for colour and texture, and the material has its own part to play.

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