Clementina van der Walt, ceramics at the tip of Africa

On yet another summery day in Cape Town, I met up with ceramist Clementina van der Walt, in her bright airy studio on a fifth floor in Woodstock. Shelves are fully stacked with ceramic wares that are ready to be fired in the kiln in various stages of completion. The vibrant colours are just everywhere. The same positive energy shines through in her smile.

Clementina specializes in table ware. ‘There is a direct connection between me, artist and maker and the end-user. I hope to enrich people’s lives through my ceramics. And it’s important for me that my art has a practical side to it. It’s great to know that people will use my art everyday. It’s enriching and moving. What one drinks out of, I find even more important and is even more intimate than eating off a plate, because taking a mug to your mouth and to your lips, makes the experience very intimate. Your hand also embraces the cup so that is a valuable part of my practice. During the Covid-times, I often have zoom webinars and then I sometimes see the most awful cup they use, and then I just want to shout and say, hey, you need something nicer!

I used to also decorate dinner plates in a quite elaborate style but now I find that my plates are now more of a canvas for the art of the chefs. I designed plates for Quartier Français in Franschhoek. But my real passion is bright colours and decorations.’

Clementina’s work can be found on the OZCF farm market (Granger Bay).

Read the full interview in our book : Cape & Karoo Cooking