Caroline Shulz Vieira

Caroline was born in Santiago Chile, 1962. Her family immigrated to South Africa in 1971. She completed her BA degree at the University of the Witwatersrand, 1984, majoring in Art History and German.

She began pottery on an informal basis during her student years and after her degree she studied with Elsa Pfenniger in Santiago, Chile. Coming back to South Africa she studied at the Kim Sacks School of Ceramics and later under Digby Hoets (Midrand).

In 1997 she set up her own studio teaching both adults and children. She annually exhibits her own work on a private basis and has selected pieces on show and for sale in galleries and shops around South Africa.

Caroline is a member of Ceramics SA. She has published a manual on clay work with children and establishing a small studio (“pottery for Little People” ) in collaboration with Vincenzia Diedericks. Caroline has participated in  numerous exhibitions, more recently the “Embellishing Space” : Ceramics SA Gauteng Regional Exhibition at Decorex (Johannesburg), Altech Ceramics Triennial 2003 (Artscape, Cape Town) and the Garden Exhibition at the Underberg Gallery as well as several Ceramics SA and APSA regional and national exhibitions.

    My fascination is with the vessel and its associations - container, space defined by walls, abundance,nurture, caring, love, embellishment, and associated concepts/ideas/objects

I need to express UTILITY as well as BEAUTY as successful complements - not aesthetics for its own sake :  Vessel must be beautiful, useful  and/or  usable

I also like to explore multiplicity of “styles” or “languages” Forms whose beauty stem from their simplicity and understatement, but also decorative vessels as carriers of a personal narrative

My work is exclusively done in stoneware and porcelain, hand built or wheel thrown, fired to 1260 C.

Information courtesy of the artist