Querardien van Vliet 

Querardien studied fine art at Natal Technikon, majoring in painting and sculpture. She started working full time with clay in 1967 as well as teaching art  and ceramics privately and at various institutions. In 1975 she set up her own pottery studio where she teaches ceramics as well as works on her own disciplines and interests such as low firing techniques, low salt firing and Raku.

She furthered her studies at University of Johannesburg completing a B Tech degree in Ceramic design. Querardien has been actively involved with Ceramics SA and became chair of Ceramics SA in 2002. She has taken part in numerous competitions and sports numerous awards for her exceptionally fine work. 

You can find examples of her work on permanent display and in the collections of:  the William Humphries Art Gallery (Kimberley), the Anglo Vaal Art collection, Telkom Private art collection, the Corobrick Collection (Pretoria Art Gallery) and the Sasol Art Collection Johannesburg. Querardien has held a number of solo exhibitions. She is a member of the advisory boards for the Craft Council, the University of Johannesburg, the National Delphic Council of SA as well as an executive member of the Council for Ceramics SA.

Querardien’s work is comprised of paperclay slip cast vessels treated with various sulphates and a sprinkling of salts, then lightly smoked or fired in sawdust inside a closed saggar within a gas kiln. Particularly in the white vessels the aim was to achieve a almost watercolour effect that will represent the reflection of drops of rain and water on the surface,  

The above methods are very time consuming and may take several firings, in order to achieve the desired result.

“The wide palette of colour and design possibilities inherent in the low-fire saggar process has long been of interest to me. Like monotype print making, there are no traditional rules to inhibit the creative process. Historically, covered stoneware or fireclay containers, known as sagars, were used to protect delicately glazed ware from fly ash created in wood-and coal-fred kilns, and were made from heavily grogged clay.

By contrast, for contemporary potters or ceramist, the use of saggars is one of inclusion, not exclusion, in that the ceramic forms are fired in a closed container to act as a chamber to trap different atmospheric effects. Here the concentration of the fuming metallic oxides, sulphates, smoking materials and the inorganic chemicals present in nearly all organic material creates a diversity of colours and patterns not possible in other firing processes. The method I developed and work with is the result of research done for an honours degree in Ceramic design completed in 2003, at the University of Johannesburg”.  

Information courtesy of the artist