In 1985 Fee Halsted completed her BA Honours degree and returned to her family farm at the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa.
Fee wished to impart what she learned to others with talent, but perhaps didn't have the financial means to study. She found such a person in her family housekeepers daughter, Bonnie Ntshalintshali. Bonnie had polio and was therefore unable to work on the farm (remember this was 1985 South Africa). At that time in South Africa education for black people was limited.
However Fee saw that Bonnie had creative talent and took her under her wing as partner in Ardmore Studios. Soon they were able to bring in more talented people from the local black community and teach them the art of ceramics.
Ardmore ceramics makes use of the rich African culture and heritage to create totally over the top designs featuring African animals and folklore.
Bonnie passed away in 1999 of AIDS related illness, but her memory lives on in the Bonnie Ntshalintshali Museum of Ardmore, which was opened by Fee in 2003 in Bonnie's honour. This was also the first museum to honour a black female artist in South Africa.
My Thoughts:
I was born in 1974 at the height of the apartheid regime and grew up in a middle class English family, but went to an Afrikaans school. I was raised to open minded and to see that all people were equal. My Afrikaans education at times could be challenging as the tendency there was more left wing, I understood however that this left wing mindset was based in fear not morality, I stuck to my beliefs. So when Mandela was released I proudly stood in line with our housekeeper and we both voted for first time together.
People like Fee who passively went against the general mindset and opened doors for rural black woman to be creative and earn an income doing something other than farm labour or housekeeping are South African heroes.
I'm not here to discuss politics though, although in a country such as ours it is difficult at times to separate the two as artists in the form of visual or musical helped the cause to change the political landscape. Thank goodness.
South African artists continue to do so in the hopes to challenge the status quo and ensure we move forward.
Ardmore remains a successful studio with works in international collections and continue their amazing work.
Tureen
Giraffe Vase
Hippo Hot Air Baloon
Elephant Vase
Hippo Candle Holder
Images Sourced From: http://ardmoreceramics.co.za/
Upcoming Events:
Contact details for Ardmore: [email protected]
Telephone: +27 (0) 33 940 0034
Visit Ardmore: Caversham Road
Lidgetton, KwaZulu-Natal
South Africa
GPS
-29.412567, 30.092006
International Stockists: http://ardmoreceramics.co.za/stockists/