Travelling around Africa searching for art can be hungry work. Most days there is no such thing as lunch, as I dash from one studio to the next, talking, looking, touching, feeling, choosing. So anyone who offers me food is an angel; none more so than the talented Heather Mills, who I refer to as an angel in white, because of her fragile neutral sgraffito work in porcelain.
Heather; herself precise, considered and delicate; is passionate about the quality and purity of her immensely intricate handmade pieces and will not compromise for the sake of commercialism. Her work is foremost about form and balance, followed closely by design and style. The queen of pure white, she has recently branched out into classic blue which has a transluscent sheen to the glaze, and is the natural choice for her first foray into colour.
Harder to get hold of than hen’s teeth, we are delighted to have a new consignment of mugs, jugs and bowls in by Heather for this show. And the beautiful flagship teapot she made especially for us has already been purchased as a perfect wedding present.
Back to the food. On my last visit, Heather kindly packed me up with a pot of ‘padkos’ before I left. For the uninitiated, (of which I was one!) that is Afrikaans for ‘road food’, or take-away I suppose. Anyway, it was very welcome, and served beautifully with a paper napkin – white of course.
