Lisa Ringwood (Abrahams) was born in Durban in 1968. She has been captivated by clay since her first pottery lesson at age 7.
She went on to study ceramics, history of art and archaeology at Durban Technikon and University of Cape Town. She spent several years experimenting with various expressions of her craft. For many years she focused on wheel work and tin-glazed earthenware.
Lisa now works from her studio in Kommetjie where over the years she has developed her style of hand building and slab moulding with scraffito, colored slips, oxides and underglaze colours. She draws her inspiration from daily life and nature. Tiles and functional ware, drawn and painted with local bird life, carp, blossoms and indigenous plants can all trace an organic tie back to the earth from which it was shaped, and every piece speaks of unhurried observation and care. She achieves this without subscribing to symmetry or commercial uniformity giving each piece their unique personality.
There is an essence of domestic nostalgia captured in her work – a sense of daily life spilling over into her craft – art and life merging into each other, being inspired by one another and the joy of creating something functional.
Her work is in private collections in South Africa and around the world.
“When I work with clay I am reminded of the rich history and tradition that has gone before me. I delight in taking this history, bringing it into the present and combining it with the serene and whimsical moments that I observe on my daily excursions into nature. Nature inspires me I am enthralled by the beauty around me, whether it’s walking in the mountains, or on a board in the ocean. My work represents my intimate engagement with this world.
I build my pieces by hand, coiling and pinching the clay as well as using slab moulds for the plates and platters. Hand building, I think adds vitality and charm to the work and gives each piece its own individual , unique character.
My choice of colour, pattern and line drawing evokes emotions in me that I would call domestic nostalgia. Somewhere there is a warm memory of old enamel plates, a Delft vase, a ginger jar high up on the top shelp of a dresser that you can’t reach and you just know there is a secret in there…”
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