It has been a very long time since my last news update.
In fact, the last one was my Tribute to Felicity, published on what would have been her 90th birthday on 2 August last year, just six months after her death.
A year later, so much has happened and so much has changed.
Life and work continue. The road towards finding a new balance after Felicity’s death has been, as might be expected, bumpy and unpredictable. Increasingly, though, it is also becoming a rewarding journey, with new things beginning to take shape.
Perhaps that is not so different from working with clay.
You begin with something that has no fixed form, and slowly, sometimes unexpectedly, it becomes something else.
We have lived and worked in this beautiful part of the country for many years, and I am reminded almost daily of how fortunate we were to find this place when we did.
Bukkenburg has always been more than a home and a studio. It has become a place that we have shared with an extraordinary number of people over the years, and that continues.
Visitors arrive from near and far – family and friends, locals and travellers, potters and ceramic enthusiasts, and people who simply happen to find their way through the gate.
The guest cottage continues to enjoy good support, and the studio remains busy.
Thankfully, our backup power system is working well, as is the alternative power supply to the fan that serves the big kiln. After the difficulties we have had with electricity, it is a considerable relief to be able to get on with the work without constantly wondering whether the next firing will make it through.
And there has been plenty of work to get on with.
Family, Pots, and a Journey North
Earlier this year I travelled to the UK for a family visit. My brother John had become very ill, and it felt like the right time to make the journey.
It became a very special family occasion. For the first time in goodness knows how long, the four of us siblings were able to spend some really meaningful time together.
Andrew very kindly took time off work and came down from Johannesburg to help Elizabeth with James and to keep things going here at home and in the studio while I was away.
Before leaving, I had managed to get some pots glazed and fired. Some lovely pieces came out of the kiln, and I was very pleased to have them displayed in the gallery before leaving for the UK.
There is always something satisfying about seeing pots move through those successive stages – from wet clay, to dry clay, to the first firing, and finally through the transformation of glaze and fire.
Of course, not everything survives the journey!
A Storm to Remember
In May, an unusually violent storm swept through our region one Monday morning, with winds of up to 135 km/h.
Three of the enormous oak trees in our front garden were destroyed, taking with them the fencing, the entrance gate and its motor, and a substantial section of the garden.
An oak tree in our neighbour’s garden, where owls had nested for many years, fell through their roof.
The damage throughout Swellendam and the surrounding region was considerable. Rain falling upstream along the Breede River brought the river down in flood – higher than anyone could remember – causing extraordinary damage to houses and properties along its course. Many vineyards in the Robertson Wine Valley and the Breede River Valley were badly affected as well.
Here at Bukkenburg, the immediate damage has been dealt with, but the front garden will take considerably longer to recover.
Those great old oaks were such an important part of the character of the place. Their absence is very noticeable.
For now, we are clearing, repairing and gradually beginning to imagine what the garden might become. It will take time, and a substantial amount of work and money, but perhaps that too is part of the nature of living in an old place: things change, sometimes because we choose them to and sometimes because nature chooses for us.
A New Chapter in the Studio
One of the more encouraging developments here has been the beginning of what I hope will become an ongoing programme of pottery workshops.
The first, held in July, was promoted as a Throwing Workshop and was fully subscribed within a few days of my sending out the notice.
The participants spent a weekend in the studio working through a varied and stimulating programme. As so often happens with teaching, the programme evolved as the weekend progressed, with participants sometimes taking us in unexpected directions as particular questions and difficulties arose.
That is one of the things I enjoy most about teaching. A workshop is never simply about passing on what one knows. The questions that arise make me look again at my own practice, and I invariably learn something too.
It was a real pleasure having Saskia involved in the workshop and in the house. She took care of the catering, prepared clay and helped keep everything running smoothly, while also photographing and recording the weekend on video.
The next Throwing Workshop is scheduled for 4–6 September.
For further information, bookings and accommodation suggestions, please see the [Workshop and Classes] page on the website: CLICK HERE
I can also be contacted on WhatsApp: +27 (0) 82 342 5453.
Here are some pictures from the weekend:
Remembering Gwen Fagan
On 1 August I travelled through to Hout Bay in Cape Town for the memorial service of Gwen Fagan, who died at the age of almost 102.
It was a moving occasion, and inevitably brought back many memories.
It was through the work of Gwen and her renowned heritage and restoration architect husband, Gabriel ‘Gawie’ Fagan, during 1997 and 1998 that we were able to turn Bukkenburg house and grounds into the working heritage homestead that it has become.
Much of what Bukkenburg is today grew out of those early years of restoration and change, and it was good to have an opportunity to remember Gwen and celebrate her remarkable life.
A similar event, arranged by the management of the Drostdy Museum, Swellendam was held this past Friday in Mayville Garden, which is part of the museum complex. Gwen was instrumental in laying out the front rose garden.
Left to right –
Gwen at 99, Felicity at 88 in the garden at Bukkenburg – January 2024
Gwen at her 100th Birthday party, with daughter Alida – Sept 2024
Our house – Bukkenburg, so lovingly worked on by Gawie and Gwen Fagan
Winter into Spring
The studio is now filling up with new work, and there is a considerable amount waiting for the next stages – glazing, decorating and firing.
Some of the pots damaged in an unfortunate bisque firing, and others damaged by rain, are slowly being made again.
There are also new glazes and glaze combinations that have been in development for some time, waiting to be tested in the next firings.
After more than fifty years of working with clay, there is still that anticipation when a kiln is opened. You may have a good idea of what is going to happen, but you never know quite what the fire will give you.
Outside, work in the garden continues. Beds are being cleared and compost worked into the soil, with spring planting of sunflowers and other annuals planned towards the end of August, if all goes well.
The rehabilitation of the front garden where the giant oaks stood will take much longer. It is a big task, but once a proper plan is in place we will begin the process of rebuilding it.
The garden in winter – 3 August 2026
Last remaining big oak tree, minus the big one on the left.
Thirty Years in Swellendam
There is a rather special event coming up in October.
A pottery festival is being planned for Swellendam from 1–4 October, when potters from across South Africa will gather here for the Gooi Pottery Festival.
“Gooi” is Afrikaans for “throw”, which seems particularly appropriate for a pottery festival – and even more appropriate for me, since my wheel will be turning throughout the weekend.
I am planning to work on a very large pot over the course of the festival, sharing the process as it unfolds, from the first lump of clay to a vessel that slowly finds its form.
There will be demonstrations, exhibitions, talks by leading ceramic artists, a lively Throwdown competition, opportunities to try your own hand at clay, and plenty of time to meet fellow makers and pottery lovers.
Visitors to Bukkenburg are very welcome. Come in, ask questions, watch, learn, and perhaps spend some time with clay yourself.
But there is another reason why this particular weekend is important to me.
On 1 October 2026, it will be exactly thirty years since Felicity, James and I arrived in Swellendam to begin the next chapter of our lives as studio potters.
Thirty years.
It is difficult to believe.
We had already spent more than twenty-four years making pots in Johannesburg, and yet those years in Swellendam have somehow passed in what feels like a very short time.
Looking back, it is extraordinary to think about everything that has happened here since that day: the restoration of Bukkenburg, the building of the studio and gallery, the guest cottage, the thousands of pots, the firings, exhibitions, workshops, visitors and friendships – and, above all, the life that Felicity and I built here.
It seems fitting that the thirty-year anniversary should coincide with a celebration of pottery in Swellendam.
I hope it will be a wonderful weekend.
Whether you are an experienced potter, someone who simply loves handmade ceramics, or are just curious about clay, I would love to welcome you.
Come and spend a little time with us at Gooi. Watch the wheel turn, meet some extraordinary potters, and experience the quiet pleasure of making something with your own hands.
I look forward to seeing you in Swellendam.
Festival updates will be posted here and on my social media accounts as they become available.
A Few Dates for the Diary
4–6 September – Throwing Workshop at Bukkenburg
1–4 October – Gooi Pottery Festival, Swellendam
1 October – Thirty years since Felicity, James and I arrived in Swellendam. The studio and gallery will be open and working throughout the festival.
Sunday 18 October – National Garden Day. I will be hosting a garden tea here in cooperation with my neighbour, the Drostdy Museum.
31 October – International Academy of Ceramics Members’ Exhibition at Rust-en-Vrede Gallery, Cape Town.
There will also be another Potter’s Lunch and Open Studio at Bukkenburg, planned for early summer, and further workshops here at the studio.
Please let me know if you would like to be added to my mailing list or WhatsApp list.
Email: david@pottery.co.za
WhatsApp: +27 (0) 882 342 5453
Chameleon in the garden
Swellendam – On The Way To Everywhere
Swellendam – beneath the ‘Clock Peaks’ of the Langeberg Moutains
Visitors have always been an important part of life at Bukkenburg.
Swellendam itself has so much to offer, surrounded as it is by mountains and some of the most extraordinary landscapes in the Western Cape.
It is sad that in recent years the town has operated without an organised tourism body with a coherent plan or strategy. There are, however, individuals who work tirelessly to maintain the visibility and profile of Swellendam and its surrounding region, and I acknowledge and value their efforts.
Despite the absence of a coordinated approach, their commitment continues to help keep Swellendam on the map and to remind visitors of what a special place this is.
And, of course, there is another reason I like the old description of Swellendam as being “on the way to everywhere”.
So many people who arrive here tell us that they had not really intended to stop – and then stayed for an hour, an afternoon, or sometimes considerably longer.
The Guest Cottage at Bukkenburg
The Guest Cottage in Spring
There is a luxury, and most comfortable 2 bedroom self-catering guest cottage in the garden which is available for overnight stays or longer visits.
Details and photographs can be found on the Accommodation page of the website: CLICK HERE
Canola Time
Winter in the Overberg brings another of the year’s great spectacles.
The canola fields turn an extraordinary bright yellow, spreading across the countryside beneath the mountains as far as the eye can see.
For a few weeks the landscape seems almost impossibly vivid – a reminder, once again, of just how fortunate we are to live in this part of the country.
Beyond the Gate
It is difficult to write an update like this without acknowledging the world beyond our gates.
These are increasingly uncertain and troubled times. South Africa faces enormous difficulties of its own, while internationally we continue to see war, political instability, economic uncertainty, inequality and growing divisions between people.
Climate change and rapid technological change are reshaping our lives, while many of the certainties on which we grew up seem to be disappearing.
These two areas of our human landscape are perhaps what concern me most at the moment:
the growing gap between those who are comfortable and those who are struggling for a meaningful place in the world,
and increasing polarisation and the growth of intolerance and the willingness of people to see those who disagree with them not simply as different, but as enemies.
It seems to me that we need more empathy, more willingness to listen, and rather less certainty that we alone have all the answers.
As Voltaire is often quoted as saying:
“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.”
And perhaps that is enough to say about the wider world for now. There is plenty to do here.
And In The Studio
In the studio I am busy with work for my spring and summer firings, new pots for the gallery, and outstanding orders and commissions.
There is a significant volume of work waiting to be glazed, decorated and fired, including some new glazes and glaze combinations that have been in development for some time.
I am looking forward to seeing what emerges.
After the very sad and overwhelming loss of Felicity, there is, gradually, growing room for hope and optimism.
I miss her more than I can say, and remain forever grateful for the wonderful years that we had together.
At the same time, I am deeply grateful for the many people whose continued presence and support have helped James and me through this most difficult period. Apologies if I appear to have been a bit remote lately!
And a very special thanks to Saskia van Leeuwen for her ongoing support and interest in all that goes on here at Bukkenburg.
Felicity’s memory and legacy continue to live on every day – in the ongoing care for James, in the work created during a lifetime of creative pursuit, in the work being made now, and in the environment that we built together.
And, importantly, she lives on in the memories, hearts and minds of so many people.
The wheel keeps turning.
The kiln will be fired again.
The garden will grow again.
And life, in its unpredictable way, continues …
Winter in the Overberg – a Blue Crane in flight.
The studio and gallery at Bukkenburg are open and working daily, and visitors are always welcome. If you are travelling from some distance, it is advisable to call ahead, just to make sure that I am here and available.
I do hope that some of you will be able to stop in when you are travelling through the Western Cape.
As the season begins to turn, and until my next update – wishing you all the very best.
David
“So it’s true, when all is said and done, grief is the price we pay for love.”
— E.A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly —
David & Felicity
E-mail: david@pottery.co.za
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Member: International Academy of Ceramics