On Sunday 9th September, for the first time, Liebermann Pottery will host The Pottery Fair, an all-ceramic event, including a large stall area, where ceramic artists from the greater Cape Town area will showcase and sell their work.
For all established or new potters and art collectors at The Pottery Fair, it will be a privilege to meet South African pottery legend Andrew Walford, who will come down from his studio in the Shongweni Hills in Kwazulu Natal to host an exhibition and a 90 minute workshop.
Andrew Walford, born in 1942, studied at Durban Art School from 1957-59 and then apprenticed with Walsh Marais and Sammy Liebermann until establishing his own studio in Durban in 1961.
He remembers: “I was the first apprentice Sammy Liebermann ever had. I worked with him for 18 months and really felt part of the family. He used to take me around to meet people in the industry. He was the one who taught me production pottery and set goals for me that I still follow today”.
Andrew Walford is one of the few South African potters who digs his own stoneware clay and meticulously prepares it to his own high standard. He then decorates the pots with his characteristic brushstrokes with specially imported Japanese brushes.
Bowl Andrew Walford
An exhibition of the artist’s stunning traditional Anglo-Oriental ceramics will be officially opened for this event and will continue for a month after that. Andrew Walford’s exhibition will mark the opening of a new exhibition space on the farm. In addition, Andrew will be holding a workshop, whereby he will demonstrate his throwing techniques and brush work, followed by a Q&A, where he will explain about flame firing techniques, tips for throwing large pots, etc.
Additional activities will include an Studios Open Day for the artists who work at the farm, a Silent Auction, in the exhibition area, where visitors can write their bids and hide them in bidding boxes next to the selected ceramic art pieces and a Children’s Workshop by Cathrine Grier.Some artists will also donate a piece to the “Art for Bhongolethu” stall in benefit of the local educational NPO Bhongolethu Foundation, which funds and runs three schools in the area.
Sammy Liebermann established Liebermann Pottery in Johannesburg in 1956 with an extensive range of traditional handmade cottage tableware and dinnerware and ceramic picture tiles. In June 2011 the Cape Town branch was opened, in Sunnydale, near Kommetjie, on a stunning 5-acre smallholding called Glenhill Farm, one of the historical farms of the Deep South area.
Adriaan Turgel, Sammy Liebermann’s nephew, also a potter, added a range of garden planters and garden decor in the 1980’s. Yearly, he travels to the Far East in search of fabulous super-sized rustic, antique, and contemporary urns, planters, fish ponds, rare porcelain and traditional ceramics.A documentary that he produced about his travels will be projected at the “Green Studio” during the event.
In this rustic setting, surrounded by pots and trees, we shall taste local craft beer poured from a ceramic tap, eat unique Cape dishes out of hand made pottery and listen to live music whilst sitting on large ceramic planters…This is a long–awaited pottery event for the South Peninsula, which so many artists call home and which is also a favourite destination for Capetonians and tourists alike.
“We cannot control nature, we can only guide it, and it is only by surrendering control to the greater power of the universe that our endeavours can find true beauty in form.” – Andrew Walford
The Pottery Fair will be held at Glenhill Farm/Liebermann Pottery,. 20 Kommetjie Road, Imhoff’s Gift, Sunnydale, on 9th September 2018 from 9 AM to 3 PM. Entrance: R10. Parking available.
For more information please join the facebook event “The Pottery Fair”, write an email to or phone 13.