The iconic pathway leading up to the Pottery is the main artery to Starways, bringing not only customers, but also friendships, ideas, and a strong sense of community.

The iconic pathway leading up to the Pottery is the main artery to Starways, bringing not only customers, but also friendships, ideas and a strong sense of community.

Pots made at Starways are a mixture of electric and wood-fired reduction stoneware. The different stylistic approaches of each resident potter is reflected in the pottery on sale at the Art Centre Gallery and in the online Shop.

Starways Pottery was founded in 1992 by internationally recognised potter, Anton van der Merwe, who is generally known for his Anglo-Japanese influenced stoneware. However, new directions are constantly being explored by the resident and visiting potters, who bring new ideas and creativity to the arts centre.

Current Resident Potters are Liyanda Mafika and Gwyneth Lloyd and are often joined by visiting potters Vale van der Merwe (Ireland), Carrie van de Langenberg (London, UK) and John Steele (East London, SA).

  • Our 3 Hour Pottery Workshops Take Place on Saturdays at 10:30am

    Liyanda Mafika introduces pottery beginners to wheel throwing. Gwyneth Lloyd shows how to create useful household items by drape moulding.

    We can offer one on one classes and up to a maximum of 6 for a workshop. Children’s workshops are also available.
    After the woprkshop we will glaze, fire and package your pots, then send them to you after they are finsished.
    Courier to your nearest Postnet costs R150 per 5 kg box.

    You can also book a follow-up workshop to learn further techniques around glazing and firing.

    R300 per person

  • Internships are for potters with some experience, who wish to take part in our unique wood firings. We do 3 glaze firings a year in February, July and October and interns usually stay from 1 - 3 weeks. During this time we help potters to understand the full cycle of woodfired pottery; from clay preparation, working on throwing skills, understanding and application of glazes, taking part in the firing process, all the way to opening a kiln, full of finished pots.

    A cabin is available for interns, offering a double bed, three single attic beds, gas shower and cooking, wood fire and solar lights. We are off-grid, so while the accommodation is very charming and rural, it is also very rudimentary and offers an opportunity to take a break from the complexities and stresses of urban living.

    Internship Costs

    Tuition costs R300 per workshop and 5 workshops a week. Includes clay making, glaze making, mould making, wheel throwing, wood firing. Accommodation is R300 per person per night Firing, Packaging and Courier costs R150 per 5 kg box

    Totals per week’s stay (excl firing, packaging and courier):
    1 Week R3000
    2 Weeks R6000
    3 Weeks R9000

    Starways provides some unique opportunities to learn about a full time functioning pottery and how to help your own practice thrive. In particular we are one of the only potteries in the country to offer experience in the almost alchemical experience of woodfiring.Trance evenings and mini-festivals are a regular annual feature at the Rose Theatre, and Pearce is pioneering a burgeoning trance scene in the Eastern Cape and South Africa.

JOIN US

If you are a potter with some basic experience, and you would like to explore the chance to work with us, please register your interest below.

Anton van der Merwe

1950-2016

Potter, artist, craftsperson, and co-founder of Starways

Anton started making artefacts at an early age in his father's workshop, that had an old gothic window to let the light in. Later the possibility of craft becoming art became clear to him.

He had no formal art tuition until late high school at Pretoria Boys High School 1965-1968. This school had a tradition and very high standards of art tuition. Amongst the teachers at PBHS were prominent South African artists Walter Battiss and Larry Scully. Anton was taught by Clinton Harrop-Allen who went on to become Professor of History of Art UNISA. He was also taught by Patrick Glen. He was given further instruction by his Aunt Liz Gerber and some part-time instruction by teachers at Pretoria Tech College in 1970's. That was the sum total of formal art tuition.

Self instruction is a long and arduous path, but there is a greater possibility of doing original and more relevant work in the Arts. 

His favorite artists over the years were Walter Battiss, Adolf Jentsch, Jean Weltz, all the Impressionists and Vincent Van Gogh.

After a period of a self-imposed apprenticeship, Anton presented at numerous group and one-man shows of his works in major South African cities from 1977 through 2014. He also showed his work in major craft galleries in the United Kingdom and The Netherlands. Most of the wood-fired pottery made at Starways is purchased by visitors who wander up the pottery path. A majority of his work now resides in the homes of people all over South Africa and overseas. 

For those of us who had the honour and pleasure of working alongside him, few words can encompass the beautiful and creative mind and heart Anton had for his work, his family, and his friends.

For those of us who walked up the pottery path or encountered him elsewhere, by chance or design, we were always met with a story, a smile and more often than not, a word of wisdom to take away with us.

Although it was incredibly sad to lose Anton, too early in his life, his legacy lives on very strongly at Starways. Not only did he leave us with an exemplary collection of pottery and paintings, he designed and built almost every structure on the property, creating the living and breathing backbone of an arts centre which has brought together many artists, poets, performers, thinkers and visitors, as well as family and friends.

Anton was incredibly spiritual, so much so, that before he died of cancer in 2016, he shared this gem of wisdom: 'If I make it through this, I get to carry on living, If I don't I get to become part of the spiritual world. So really it's a win-win situation.' His legacy, of course, reaches far beyond Starways. his pottery, paintings, stories and his many words of wisdom residing in the homes and hearts of people all over the world. 

Retrospective Work

If you have returned to the website with the purpose of reordering Anton's pottery, we hope that you will take the time to view work of the new resident potters, all of whom Anton had a hand in training and who all have their own distinctive approaches to pottery and ceramics.