WORDS Lindi Brownell Meiring
The fun designs created by Cape Town-based ceramicist Lesley Tuchten, whose work we spotted at the recent Homemakers Expo, feature a range of sculpted animals, from dogs and rabbits to goldfish and whales.
While Lesley took a pottery class on the side when completing her Masters in 2005, her actual journey into the world of ceramics was inspired by a sculpture she created of a rabbit five years ago. “I found that sculpting the face was weirdly addictive,” she says. “Since then it slowly snowballed into the animal sculptures in the ring bowls and animal planters. Also, I’m obsessed with not only my pets but everybody else’s, so I guess this was inevitable.”
For Lesley, creating something from scratch is extremely satisfying. “Everyone has the urge, for cooking, knitting, gardening, DIY; everyone has a maker in them,” she says. The technical process involved in making ceramics is also something she enjoys. “Each piece of clay is a problem waiting to be solved by maths and chemistry. It feels good to solve the problem.”
Here are 10 of VISI’s favorites:
To see more of Lesley’s work, follow her on Instagram.
