From sensational sculptures to stunning, uniquely shaped ceramics, potter Vusi Bernard Ntshalintshali brings experience, passion and vision to his creations at The Pottery in Ballito.
One might never believe that a young farm boy, growing up moulding animals from river clay in the Drakensberg mountains, could one day turn his childhood hobby into a career.
But that is precisely what former Ardmore ceramic studio painter and sculptor Vusi has done.
Although most of the sculptures he creates in his spare time are inspired by African animals and magnificent, emotive Christian-based narratives, Vusi also has a natural affinity for unusual shapes and ceramic ware.
It’s easy to understand how 49-year-old Vusi fell in love with sculpting when you consider the fact that he grew up on Ardmore farm in the Champagne Valley area of the Drakensberg.
The now world-famous Ardmore ceramic studio (which was established on the farm in 1985 and then moved to the KZN Midlands a few years later), was where Vusi first learnt to tap into his artistic skill. At the time, both Vusi’s parents were working on the farm – his father as an ‘induna’ and his mother in the dairy.
“Growing up in the mountains, I used to spend a lot of time playing with clay in the rivers,” says Vusi. “I would make cars, goats, cows and tractors … all the things I saw around me. I never could have guessed that these items might one day be sold.”
One of five siblings, Vusi spent much of his youth working on the farm, helping with the cows and goats. He was also very skilled at drawing.“ Fee (Ardmore founder) invited me to join the studio and trained me and other artists working there to paint plates and ceramics.”
After a couple of years, Vusi decided to spread his wings and moved to Johannesburg where he worked as a painter in a small ceramic studio. Here he started training himself on the potter’s wheel, using recycled clay.
He soon discovered a passion for sculpting. “I’ll never forget the first person I made out of clay, Nelson Mandela,” he says. It was one of his Christian-based sculptures, however, that led to Vusi winning a national award in 2002 (after he’d returned to Ardmore). The piece was called ‘Hunting Christians on the Road to Damascus’.
Vusi continued to work at Ardmore until 2008, then spent a few more years working with clay in Johannesburg until he ended up back home, where he tried to start his own studio. Things didn’t work out though and, while looking for a job online, he came across The Pottery in Ballito where he worked for almost a year. While there Vusi was responsible for making many of the items in the store.
His passion, however, remains creating his own sculptures and pushing the boundaries of creativity and his dream is to one day open his own, successful pottery studio.
