Johan Swart

“My journey with clay started in 1988. As a young aspiring potter I was eager to shape the most impressive and intricate vessels, learning and using various techniques. Always trying to go bigger, bolder and more adventurous with my designs. Forcing the clay and myself. As time went by I started to realise that there are more to this magical medium than just rushing to get the next pot made and sold.

There is calmness in the shaping process, a joy in pouring yourself into the clay. Being true to who you are and letting your passion to create guide you will produce work that reflects its maker, good or bad but non the less honest. It has become less about how many I can produce or the sales and more about enjoying the process, centering the clay and myself.

I do not think you become a potter after attending a few classes or achieving a certain skill level or even if you made a profitable business of if. You are a potter if you truly love to work with this humbling medium and if you made a long-term commitment to it. It becomes your lifestyle. It becomes you.

I feel that my journey, after all these years, has just begun.”