The Fine Art Gallery in Swakopmund is hosting a ceramic and painting exhibition by local artists Betsie van Rensburg and Carola Lorck until 20 August. The exhibition is called “Soul Food” and will consist of usable household goods. Both Betsie and Carola will exhibit pottery like dinner plates, mugs, containers and flower vases. Betsie will include some of her paintings.

Betsie, a former social worker and teacher, says she planned to exhibit 20 paintings, but time has run out and she will only exhibiting 10. She started painting 7 years ago with teachers Silke Behrens and Uli Ulrich and now has Heidie Louw as her mentor. She says, “I love both painting and pottery and cannot say which one I prefer. I would be busy painting and then suddenly the clay calls me!”

Carola, who studied clothing production and has a management background, started doing pottery as a hobby in 2000 with Sharon Flewellen. She soon realised she is not a traditional potter. She wanted to explore her craft and the only way was to start up her own studio, which she opened in 2005. “Nothing has yet exploded in my kiln!” she laughs, “I experiment with sand as I want to put a little bit of the Namib desert in my work.” Her combination of sand and clay has become her trademark.

On her part, Betsie has been experimenting with iron particles found in dune sand. She went on tour with Tommy’s Tours where he showed her how iron “jumps up” when you hover a magnet over the sand.

This is the duo’s second combined exhibition. Their first one was in 2011 at the Fine Art Gallery with the theme, “Earth, Water, Fire and Air” and was a huge success. Carola says, “last year it felt like we were thrown into the deep end.” Betsie agrees, “and now we’ve learned the ropes, but its still a hair raising thing to do!”