MAKERS | AFRICA | SOUTH AFRICA | CERAMICS

Cara Bauermeister | Ceramic Artist

Pictured: South African ceramicist Cara Bauermeister photographed at home in Somerset West with the Silo Vase from her Perennial Collection. © Inge Prins

Sought out by the world’s most inspiring tastemakers and remarkable hotels, Cara Bauermeister creates ceramic vessels from her garden studio in South Africa’s Cape Winelands. Like the pages of a flower press, her pieces bear the marks of a wild garden in bloom, balancing intricate painting and sculptural silhouettes with everyday utility. Layered with references to unearthed pottery shards, historic textiles and decorative art, each becomes a palimpsest of the garden and art history.

How did you begin? 

At school, I focused on Fibre art. I then proceeded to the Michaelis School of Fine Art, at the University of Cape Town, where I specialised in Printmaking, completing my Master's degree in Fine Art. I subsequently lectured at the University of Cape Town for the next decade.

Lecturing is not always conducive to making, and I found this to be true for me. I longed for a creative life in the studio. My husband and I, who both grew up in the Cape Winelands, left the city for a rambling countryside home surrounded by Oak trees and an old Cape Garden. I started gardening. Soon the annuals were blooming. I needed vases, and I could not find what I was imagining. While digging in the orangey red clay soil of the garden, I found beautiful blue and white pottery shards and a small iridescent pottery bird. The seed had been planted. I started on a journey back to the studio to create vases from clay.

Cara working in her garden studio just outside of Cape Town © Inge Prins.

How did you learn? 

I am both formally trained and self-taught. As a printmaker in my earlier life, I find that many techniques I learnt in this field have influenced my ceramics. Woodcarving in particular has been instructive, and I have reinterpreted this technique in my work.

My study of fibre art, which included techniques of Mola, Batik and weaving, affirmed my love of textiles and particularly pattern making, which has been a big inspiration to me and forms an important part of my work. I work in translucent porcelain, stone and earthenware clays, and I use an electric kiln to fire my work. 

How do you plan, prepare and execute your works?

It depends- sometimes I see in my mind's eye what I would like to make. On other occasions, typically when I am working on a commission, I will turn to my visual references and do textual research on the subject if I am not familiar enough with it. I love this part of the process because inevitably, I learn something new.

After drawing various iterations of a piece, I will make a pattern or maquette to scale. It is amazing how size affects the character of a piece. I have found that even a small difference in size can change how a piece is perceived or sits in space. 

For some of my pieces, I create press molds- this entails building a model, casting it in plaster and refining it with additional reductive carving. Other pieces are carved free form using sprig molds for additions. I also have a great love of agateware- both its tradition and technique. This process involves colouring clay with various coloured stains, then stacking and compressing these layers. The clay is then divided and traditionally rolled into coils. The coils are then compressed into a block shape and finally cut into flat sheets that can be used for slab building or molding. Most recently, I have started working with marbling clay. Experimenting is a fun and essential part of my process.

Who or what most inspires your work?

My biggest inspiration is nature. The artists, work and movements that inspire me are primarily concerned with the natural world. While my sources of inspiration are ever expanding, longtime favorites include great artists like the designer and craftsman René Lalique’s interpretation of the natural world, so too the work of Claude and Francois Lalanne. The designs and uses of color by the Huguenot silk workers of Spitalfields.

Also Millefleur tapestry from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Dutch 17th-century flower painting and Mughal-era flower paintings and carpets. The ceramic artefacts of Ancient cultures, particularly the Roman and Etruscans. The fine carving (extra space) of the Song Dynasty and the Dutch and English delft interpretations of Chinese ceramics. Joseph Cornell. More recently, the designs of Christopher Dresser and Dogbert Peche.

What does a typical day look like?

My studio is in the garden. I make my ceramics and do glazing on the lower level of the studio, while my photography and drawing take place on the upper. This is also where I keep my books on art history and ceramics. The studio is also a repository for my collections of ceramics and patterns that I enjoy looking at and serve as daily inspiration.

I try to keep my days flexible, and my timetable is often set by a given project. The seasons also influence my work schedule, as the temperature affects the workability of the clay. Working in a Mediterranean climate means that during the height of summer, working in porcelain is very difficult due to its susceptibility to cracking when drying too quickly.

A Cara Bauermeister tulip vase featured in Cabana Magazine's feature on a Hudson Valley home designed by Heidi Callier. Photography by Haris Kenjar. Styling by Mieke ten Have. 

What are the joys and difficulties of being a craftsperson today?

Today there is a growing acknowledgement that craftsmanship can be a valuable and integral part of being a contemporary artist. I believe craftsmanship is directly equated with beauty through the artist's technique and the pursuit of creating something of beauty. The dedication, time and skill required to produce fine work are becoming rarer and more valuable.

Unfortunately, the mass production of trend-driven decorative objects eschews all the values that are so essential to craftsmanship with cheap imitation. Knowledge and visual literacy are becoming ever more important in the appreciation and preservation of craftsmanship.

One of my greatest joys is making vases. This has been a deliberate choice- I aim to make pieces that can bridge the gap between purely conceptual sculptural objects and utilitarian ware. The ability of the vase to function as something of use, an art object and a holder of beauty makes it a wonderful subject. 

From collaging as a child to foraging with her father, the designer and ceramicist has crafted an unexpected career from her garden studio. Photography by Inge Prins. 

An object you’ll never part with?

One of my most treasured objects is a brooch by master micro-carver Francesco Tanadei (1771-1828). The brooch is a small gold shadow box containing a minuscule ivory carving of flowers in a woven basket. The detail, given the size, is remarkable. The piece must have been carved before Tanadei reached the age of 30. By his 30th year, he lost the ability to see the fine details the technique required. By the end of the 18th century, the technique had been lost. The brooch is a poignant reminder that apprenticeships are vitally important in preserving the techniques of master craftspeople.

A place or space that inspires you? 

While I have travelled to many sites of great beauty, my heart always returns to the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was my first foreign travel destination and the first museum to truly open my eyes to the diversity of beauty and meaning that humankind is capable of creating. It remains a place of wonder, resonance and instruction however many times I visit.

Interview by Emma Becque

Images from Inge Prins