potter porcelain artist technical writer ceramics instructor. |
Antoinette Badenhorst:
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potter porcelain artist technical writer ceramics instructor. |
Antoinette Badenhorst:
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The clay process is very tedious. I like to refer to porcelain as the “diva of clay”. The diva is “addicted to water”; give her too much and she becomes “drunk” and collapse. Give her too little and she stay ridged. Just enough makes the “diva dance”.
This analogy is a tongue in the cheek reference to the pliability of the medium. The reality is that when it is soft and workable, it is prone to slumping. When it is not slumping, it tends to be ridged and cracks easily. Therefor I have to work with the very narrow window of opportunity when the clay is just right to work with. To bring my ideas on paper to artistic expression is a slow process. The opportunity to form it is one in which a fine balance between soft and leather hard clay is maintained. |
The light and shadow that is formed contributes to the story-line of my work.The overall theme is “Circles, cycles, seasons. Each piece is part of a larger series, drawn from nature with the analogy to human nature; how they respond to their own, or the circumstances of people and events around them. The rhythms of time flow, but chances of change are always just one moment away: today’s joy is tomorrow’s sorrow. Life today is followed by death. Summer today, is winter next. Sadly, today’s youth is tomorrows old age and it all start from one stagnant place from where life spirals out in circles. Clay, interestingly enough, begins as a lifeless lump, made up from tiny platelets that is ready and willing to be formed into objects of beauty.On the potter’s wheel it spirals out. In the hand of the maker, it grows to pieces of beauty or it suddenly breaks down into disaster. |
“Reaching Out” is often the first response after a catastrophe, but then we “move along” while some goes down and others raise “above circumstances” Sometimes we hurt too much to share it with others and we turn into ourselves while there are times when we keep enjoying the smooth rhythm of life around us.
There is an artist in all of us. While some people develop their artistic expression, others enjoy the creative process of artists and some find solace in art, when they cannot voice their feelings themselves. I like to teach and share my work and knowledge with others. I enjoy the challenges that porcelain brings, but at the same time I like to pay close attention to the small nuances and details of the medium. |
As a is a very passionate potter she worked with many styles of pottery in different parts of the world. She how she specialized in porcelain.
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Antoinette maintains a small functional production studio separate from her artwork. See more about that on the Dinnerware pages
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Antoinette distinct herself as author of technical articles in many magazines around the world. She wrote exhibition reviews and she reviewed other potters. She is also a curator and show judge.
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Over the years she taught potters in various fields of pottery, in different environments and she taught students of all ages and all levels of development.
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