Life-Times

The earthenware lovingly handcrafted at the Muizenberg shop-studio of a talented potter is sought-after for its special, nostalgic quality

Words: Kim Chaloner Photographs: Deborah Da Silva

Left: Inspiration bubbles out of me,’ says Muizenberg potter Tessa Gawith; Right: Potspot is a soulful mishmash of textures, shapes and magic ingredients.

A visit to Muizenberg potter Tessa Gawith’s studio ­­- in an arty enclave boasting a jeweller, an art gallery, a belly-dancer and a metalworker – is an exercise in self-restraint. There’s the urge to dig your bare hands into the bags of moistened clay stowed in the cool of a concrete countertop, to stab a finger into the voluptuous, evolving shapes as they’re thrown, to slide a palm along the smooth surfaces of the delicate, unfired tubs and cups stacked up in the kiln. Thankfully, the therapeutic hum of the potter’s wheel, as it whips the fudge-like clay into bountiful forms, lulls the senses. Mind you, if you were to get a little over-excited, Tessa probably wouldn’t even notice.

Left: Brilliant (and non-toxic) paints in colours like Chartreuse and Royal Blue are scattered throughout the studio; Right: Many of Tessa’s designs are for children: ‘I’m inspired by their toys, by things like a button on an old teddy bear.’

Here, in the cool and calm of her shop-studio, set back from the Muizenberg beachfront hub by a few narrow streets, Tessa throws, turns, embosses, paints, bisques, draws and glazes – completely in the moment. She’s totally absorbed by the task at hand, from squishing shapes and moulding things to calculating glazing temperatures, oven times and handle sizes. She likes to play, finding inspiration in all things, even the well-loved teddy bears her children coveted when they were little. ‘My craft has changed me, it has offered me a place of peace,’ says the member of band The Time Flies (for which she plays keyboard), mum of three, and wife to Graeme Blem, a guitarist who owns a prop-rental company in Obs (and writes most of her band’s material). ‘It is also good for learning about consequences. If you hurry you’ll break things, and if you don’t think things through you’ll mess them up.’

With that she darts out to her sunny courtyard to tend to a tap whose washer has just gone. ‘It can be chaotic,’ she admits, as she stems the gushing water with both hands. ‘It can also be energizing.’ Minutes later, the plumber en route, she’s back at her table embellishing the rim of a children’s bowl in soft baby pink, completely lost in thought.

Left: Shelves heaved with bags of fruit mix (and the odd bottle of brandy) in the run-up to her Christmas pudding bonanza; Right: Balance is key for this busy potter and mum of three, hence her clearly defined working hours.

This year, in a tragic setback, the family’s Kalk Bay home burnt down. ‘Stress is part of life,’ says Tessa, with evident resolve. ‘You have to try and manage things so that you still enjoy being alive. We are learning a lot about ourselves as a family.’ In the coming days she’ll put the finishing touches to the traditional Christmas puddings in billowing red-and-white clay tubs she makes and sells each year. Soon she’ll gather together her loved ones for an annual ritual: to stir in the love, the secret ingredient of every last dessert. Here, at Tessa’s place, thought and emotion go into every work of art. ‘It’s one of the best gifts I’ve ever been given,’ she says of her talent. Watching her rhythmically working the clay, it’s clear she loves nothing more than to escape to her studio and immerse herself in a technical and rigorous process that ultimately gives joy to others.

Potspot 083-700-5674, potspot@mtnblackberry.com. You’ll also find Tessa’s creations at the Bluebird Market, cnr of Albertyn and Rhodesia in Muizenburg, from 3-9pm on Fridays; and at Marigold’s on De Lorentz in Tamboerskloof, Cape Town.