VESSEL II

Vessel by Clive Sithole. Burnished smoke-fired clay, Height 46cm.
Since Clive Sithole has just won the ceramics/pottery category in the 2009 South African Craft Awards, it is fitting that I highlight his work at the beginning of this post, Vessels, Part II.
Vessel by Clive Sithole

I love the shapes of these vessels as well as the incised or raised patterning on the highly burnished surface. Sithole gets this amazing gloss by rubbing the surface with a smooth stone. When asked where his inspiration comes from, he said "I have always collected things and in 1994, when I arrived in KwaZulu-Natal, I was introduced to traditional Zulu things, like headrests and beadwork. I visited museums to find out more about these objects and today they help to inspire my work." (You can see the headrest shapes that Sithole has used in two of these vessels )
Vessel by Clive Sithole

Sithole is inspired by the work of Kenyan-born British ceramist Magdalene Odundo whose work you can see below.

Vessel by Magdalene Odundo. Brooklyn Museum

Contemporary vessel by Magdalene Odundo. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

This piece forms part of a series called Warrior Woman by South African ceramisist Michelle Legg.

Yatura beaded gourd housing fertility secrets. Axis Gallery