David Schlapobersky Felicity Potter - Studio Pottery & Ceramics

04/06/2026

Sometimes the pot grows larger than the potter and demands a different kind of conversation.

A glimpse into the making of a very large pot on the wheel at Bukkenburg Studio.

This stoneware floor jar has reached a height of 1.2 metres, and the final stages require both a ladder and patience. The wheel turns, the clay rises, and slowly a vessel emerges through movement, touch, and time.

Even after decades of making pottery, there’s an ongoing quiet wonder at the way that the form takes shape beneath my hands.

Sound on for a little classical guitar accompaniment from the studio.

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04/06/2026

17/05/2026

In the aftermath of the recent storm, with so much chaos, destruction and uncertainty around us, it feels important to return to the studio and the discipline of making.

This short video shows me throwing the top onto a large stoneware planter — new work slowly emerging at a time when so much around us still feels broken and unsettled.

The need for focus, concentration and application in the studio has become urgent for me these past days. There is something steadying and restorative in the rhythm of the wheel, the feel of clay moving through the hands, and the quiet demands of the work itself.

Outside, in our damaged environment, the fallen oak trees still lie scattered across the garden while we wait for the insurance assessor to arrive. There is much damage to assess and repair even here at home.

And beyond us here in Swellendam, reports continue to come in describing extensive damage to homes, farms, roads, bridges and public infrastructure across large parts of the Western Cape.

Wishing strength, endurance and courage to all those facing similar circumstances — and especially to those whose losses and difficulties are far greater than our own.

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11/05/2026

Serious damage all around us this morning after the extreme winds that arrived with this cold front.

Our entrance is completely blocked by fallen oak trees — four great old trees that have stood here for well over a century.

It is difficult to take in the suddenness of it.

Trees that have sheltered this place for generations, through storms, summers, droughts and changing seasons, now lying across the road overnight.

All around the district there has been widespread damage, fallen trees and powerlines, and roofs lifted in the gale-force wind. We are safe, thankfully, but the landscape this morning feels changed in a very real way.

A sobering reminder of both the beauty and the force of nature.

It’s now past 11:00am and the wind continues to rage here this morning.

For now we are effectively cut off, trying to find someone with a chainsaw who can at least clear a path through the fallen branches and trunks so that we can get in and out again safely.

It is extraordinary to see these old oak trees — standing for more than a hundred years — brought down in a single event of violent weather.

The sound of the wind through the remaining trees is still deeply unsettling.

25/01/2026

Attaching and pulling handles on the mugs being thrown in yesterday’s video …


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24/01/2026

There’s a particular stillness that comes when porcelain meets the wheel.

Hands learn the clay, the clay answers back, and time settles into a steady rhythm.

Each mug begins here — centred, opened, gently lifted — made to be held, used, and lived with.

A small daily ritual, shaped slowly, one turn at a time.


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19/01/2026

Cape Sugarbird cooling off in the fountain outside the gallery yesterday late in the afternoon after a warm day …




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The Blog on our Website in tribute to Felicity:
https://pottery.co.za/memorial-to-felicity-on-her-90th.../
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At: Bukkenburg Pottery Studio, Gallery & Guest Cottage, Swellendam
https://www.facebook.com/bukkenburg/
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Our Studio Page on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/davidandfelicity

14/01/2026

Two oil burners on the big kiln at full fire.
Short yellow/orange reduction flames breathing from the spy holes.

Inside the kiln: ±1280°C, climbing toward 1320°C.
Outside the studio in the shade: 34°C.

This is the final stretch of a high-temperature reduction firing.

An extreme day for an extreme process - where heat, flame, atmosphere, and patience shape what will eventually emerge.

12/12/2025

Finishing off the second of these very big jars.

04/12/2025

And safely off the wheel, 125cm tall and weighs about 79kg …