Open Studios Fish Hoek & Clovelly

Leora Lewis is a ceramic artist whose work moves between the functional and the fantastical. Her practice ranges from carefully controlled table and kitchenware, often made using moulds and photographic decals, to more intuitive hand-built pieces inspired by animals, birds, plants and organic forms. Much of Leora’s work is driven by process and experimentation. Clay surfaces are layered with slips and engobes, then scratched, scraped and worked back to reveal textures stamped into the slabs beneath. Rather than beginning with a fixed idea of the finished piece, she often allows the materials and making process to determine where the work will lead. At present, Leora is particularly inspired by the colours, textures and movement of water flowing over shallow rocks. She is exploring natural, flowing forms that capture something of this movement within the clay itself. Having worked with metal, photography and different printing processes throughout her career, Leora values clay for its a...

Working from a small, rustic studio in Clovelly, Sue Jowell, Akhona Mposelwa and Posent Ncube create the distinctive metal-clad mirror frames and decorative wall panels for which they have long been known on the Cape Town craft scene. Inspired by the metalwork found on Tuareg furniture and masks, the artists create intricate collages using a variety of beautiful metals. These are carefully riveted into place and embellished with patterns of metal studs. Blues, greens and reds are developed using different patinas and fire. The process is thrilling and unpredictable, ensuring that no two pieces ever turn out exactly the same. Their work is a joyful and often humorous celebration of flora and fauna, featuring wildlife, dogs and cats, dancers, swimmers and underwater scenes. Spanners and other unexpected objects also appear, perhaps inspired by Sue’s self-described tendency towards domestic chaos. A Michaelis graduate, Sue began her career in advertising and illust...

Sue Kaplan paints from her studio in Fish Hoek and teaches art classes both from home and at Montebello Design Centre. Her bold, expressive work draws on everyday experiences, emotions and the natural world. Her practice is intuitive and often confessional, using the physicality of paint to explore what lies beneath the surface and give form to thoughts and feelings that can be difficult to articulate. Teaching and painting are closely connected in Sue’s practice. Work developed for her students often finds its way back into her own studio, creating a reciprocal relationship between the two. Nature remains a strong and recurring presence, expressed through the energy, colour and vitality of the natural world. Sue holds an MAFA from Wits, an Honours Degree in Curating from UCT, a BAFA from UNISA and an Advanced Diploma in Fine Art from Wits. She has also completed courses in Art Therapy and Zen Coaching, and has worked across a wide range of communities and creative environments.  S...