Digby Hoets

I enjoy making groups of large pots whose purpose is to enhance, enrich, vitalise and add character to gardens, homes and architectural spaces.  I like to visit the location with the client, architect or landscaper and then make pots that I feel will really belong in that setting.   I believe that pots play an important role in humanising architecture and making the link between the interior and exterior environments.

Digby Hoets has worked as a potter and run a pottery school from home since 1973. Born in Johannesburg, 1949, he matriculated from King Edward Seventh in 1967 and after a year in the navy he registered for a B.Sc. at Natal University (PMB).  He started making pots in his mother's studio as a means of supplementing his income as a student, found that he preferred making pots and never completed his degree.  He has received no formal training in ceramics. Since 1995 Digby has worked and run his pottery school from the thatched studio, which he built at his home in Midrand.

Digby makes his large pots in 3 to 4 week cycles – 2 to 3 weeks making the pots and the final week glazing and firing.  He starts by throwing the base sections of all the pots he intends making that week.  Pots are thrown on bats to enable him to move them on and off his wheel.   When the pots are leather hard he adds a fat coil to the pot and throws the following section.  Each day a new coil / section is added to each pot until the desired height is achieved. He uses very basic, traditional glazes with a high clay content, (tenmoku and other saturated iron glazes, celadons, ash and shino glazes) which are suited to reduction firing.   All pots are raw-glazed with glazes being poured over the rotating pot.  Approximately 12 pots are fired at a time in a 120 cubic foot reduction kiln at approximately 1380 °C.

Digby is recognised as one of South Africa’s foremost potters with an unrivalled position when it comes to his large ceramic works. His work is in collections throughout the world. Examples of his work can be found in numerous museums and public collections, most notably the Johannesburg Art Gallery, The Pietersburg Art Museum, The Sasol Art Museum in Stellenbosch as well as Highgrove House in Gloucestershire (home of Prince Charles). His private and corporate collectors include the Development Bank, The Forum (Gensec), ABSA, Portland Cement, Investec, South African Breweries, MTN, Nedcor, Guardian National, PSG and SAPPI’s head office in Johannesburg.  Recent commissions include private homes and hotels in New York, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro and Geneva for Peter Marino & Associates (leading firm of New York based architects). Digby was the overall award winner at APSA's National Ceramic Exhibition on four occasions – 1972, 1978, 1987, and 2001. In 2002 he won a Gold Medal at FNB’s Vita Craft Exhibition.

He has taken part in exhibitions of the work of leading South African potters which toured Germany in 1978 and 1979 and has held one man shows at: Ann Zinn Gallery (Cape Town), Beuster Skolimowski Gallery (Pretoria), Helen de Leeuw (Johannesburg) and the Goodman Gallery (Johannesburg). He has also taken part in numerous group shows and the annual ceramics exhibitions organised by the Association of Potters of South Africa and the Craft Council of South Africa as well as an exhibition of the work of South African artists at South Africa House in London.

Information courtesy of the artist.