Tshililo’s ceramic work adds traditional elements
Tshililo Malange, a self-employed potter from Mpheni Block D1, near Elim, enjoys keeping herself productive and poverty at bay by making beautifully decorated pots and bowls.
LIMPOPO – Tshililo Malange started her business Mosaic Art Works in 2006 after she received money from the Luminosa Trust, the company she had previously worked for as a field worker, distributing community public phones to spaza shops.
She explains that she buys traditional clay pots from the local grannies around her community and uses it as moulds to cast her ceramic pots, to ensure a strong final product. She also uses other Venda materials.
She buys the mosaic glass used to decorate her ceramic ware in Pretoria.
“Working with ceramic is not the same as using clay soil,” she said.
She soaks the casting clay in water. When it becomes liquid, she pours little by little into moulds until the moulds are filled. She waits about three days for it to dry, then takes it out and places it on the electrical pottery wheel and starts to shape it into a form.
“When it is shaped, we bake it in the oven at 1 100 degrees celsius. Once baked, we clean it with a dry cloth and later I decorate it with the mosaic glass according to my desire. I make pots in bright colours or plain,” she said.
Malange believes that it is her responsibility to share her good fortune with her community. She often shows the youngsters and other women from her community how to make ceramic mosaic pottery. She says it is important for women to find something that can generate an income for themselves.
“Now is the time for women to work hard so that they can reap the fruits,” she said.
