FÈE HALSTED VISITS ST PETERSBERG

Celebrated ceramic artist from South Africa Visits St. Petersberg. (Courtesy of The South African Art Times 2010-11-02 )

Fèe Halsted, the founder of Ardmore Ceramic Art, will be the guest of honour at a weekend Celebration of Ceramic Art & Collectibles at the Vinoy Renaissance St Petersburg Resort on December 4 and 5, 2010.

Halsted is being honoured for her role in empowering women and uplifting their lives in South Africa. She will receive her honour from Women’s Campaign International at their annual fund-raising event in New York on November 30, All the Difference in the World. For the past 12 years, WCI has helped women find their voices by giving them tangible skills in 20 countries around the world. WCI honours individuals who have made exceptional contributions to women’s rights and past honourees include musician John Legend, Vice President Joe Biden, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Fèe Halstead has been fostering artistic talent in a remote area of KwaZulu-Natal for the last 25 years and many South African women have been trained as decorators of her distinctive designs. Each piece of Ardmore ceramic art is individually modelled and hand-painted by Zulu artists, who have become renowned for their exuberant use of colour and their vivacious modelling of flora and fauna. Leopards, zebras, giraffes, hyenas and monkeys burst with life from luxuriant foliage to form quirky and humorous vases, candlesticks, tureens or teapots.

The Ardmore artists battle diseases such as HIV/Aids and the sale of each piece helps improve the quality of life in their rural community. Fortunately, this original and unique South African pottery has become very collectible in recent years with specialist sales at Christie’s of London and Sotheby’s in Johannesburg. An heir to the Coca Cola fortune has collected over 700 pieces and museums from New York to Zurich have acquired examples of Ardmore Ceramic Art. Queen Elizabeth II was recently presented with a piece of Ardmore by the President of South Africa and there is also an Ardmore masterpiece in the White House.

Fèe will be signing purchases of Ardmore Ceramic Art at the Pascoe and Company celebration weekend on December 4 from 13h00 to 18h00 and on December 5 from 10h00 to 16h00. Come and meet this remarkable lady and enjoy a wonderful celebration of ceramic art at Vinoy Renaissance St Petersburg Resort, 501 5th Ave NE, St Petersburg, FL