A Potter’s Tale in Africa – the Life and Words of Andrew Walford by Neil Wright is a beautifully presented, richly-illustrated and highly-readable account of Andrew Walford's work, life, technique and philosophies.The double-page image on the inside front cover gives a taste of what is to come. Dark and moody, it features Koi fish swimming in dappled sunlight. The energy of the fish and those swirling in the depths below connect to the given quotation by Yanagi, the Japanese philosopher and founder of the mingei (folk craft) movement in Japan in the late 1920s and 1930s. “Anyone who is moved by the beauty of craft is in reality being moved by the invisible power that lies beneath the surface.”
In his foreword to A Potter’s Tale in Africa, David Basckin shares his experiences when filming a documentary on Andrew Walford and his work. “Using the tools and styles of classical Oriental ceramics, he combines the carp and bamboo motifs of Japan with the botanical references of Africa, his home.” Walford has often described himself an African Zen potter, saying that Zulu and Zen go together - citing a Zulu milk pail as being minimalist and describing Zulu spoons and mats and their decoration as being akin to Zen brush strokes.
Walford’s life was influenced by his mother who studied art in Paris when she was 15; lecturers James Hall and Mary Stainbank and potter Bernard Leach. He spent a year at the Walsh Marais Studio, once owned by the late Aidan Walsh, before moving to the Sammy Liebermann Studio in Johannesburg. Eventually he started his own studio back at Walsh Marais.
With his first wife, Elke, he moved to Staufen in Germany where he built his own pottery but created much havoc in the town with his first firing, even to the point of having the police stand guard for a full 12 hours before the kiln could be opened. The firings were to be too much for the good citizens of Staufen and he was forced to move on! Then followed a teaching post in Hamburg before his marriage ended in divorce and he came back to South Africa.
A turning point in his approach to his artistic style came when he made the journey to Japan to visit Shoji Hamada, the Japanese equivalent of Bernard Leach. This exposure to Japanese art was to influence his work from then on.
He met his second wife Leanda at a Highway Art Group gathering and the description of the registration of their marriage is highly amusing. Ardent followers of Rama Krishna, they created a home and a studio on an empty piece of land in a game park in Ntshongweni. The Andrew Walford Pottery is surrounded by abundant bird life and a profusion of flowering jacaranda, hibiscus, bougainvillea and frangipanis, overlooking the Ntshongweni Dam. Walford Open Days are extremely popular.
Here Andrew Walford created his own giant oil-fired kiln. A firing, which can take four-to six days, consumes thousands of litres of fuel with the temperature running at over 1350 degrees Celsius. It is often a nail-biting time - if things go wrong, it could be financially devastating. Each firing is different and there can be as many as 300 pieces in the kiln at a time. Talking freely about his firing process and the soul-searching process it generates, Walford says: “this is one of the very few arts and crafts where you cannot actually see what you are doing.”
Author Neil Wright acknowledges Andrew Walford’s enthusiasm for the project in which he challenged him to “bring out the theatre in the book, to try and make the reader feel, smell, hear and see the tale of the potter. “ This Wright has achieved admirably. Apart from its entertaining text, the publication is full of outstanding photographs by Liesel Wright and Widbert Giessing as well as by Leanda and Andrew Walford. The attractive cover and layout is by Anthony Cuerden. Adding to the Walford storyline are chapters dealing with the history of ceramics both globally and in sub-Saharan Africa.
Produced by Wright Publishing with its attractive red silk page-marker and ceramic seal, A Potter’s Tale in Africa – the Life and Words of Andrew Walford is available at leading bookstores. Recommended Retail Price R370 - ISBN: 978 0 620 45400 1- Caroline Smart
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