Judith Mkhabela, an inspirational potter from KwaZulu-Natal

The Evangelical Lutheran Church’s Art and Craft Centre at Rorke’s Drift provided an enlightened environment for black artists during the apartheid years when they had few other opportunities. There is a growing literature on these achievements, but potter Judith Mkhabela, who benefited from this influence, has not yet been recognised in print, probably because she worked mainly at home. This paper documents, as far as we have been able, the range of items, including the distinctive ceramic elephants, made by her and her associates, as well as some details about her life. KEY WORDS: Judith Mkhabela, Rorke’s Drift Art and Craft Centre, Zulu ceramics. Two current issues make this an opportune time to produce this paper. The first of these concerns is the growing literature on the achievements of the Art and Craft Centre at Rorke’s Drift, started by the Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELC) in the 1960s, which has had such an important influence on the development of art in South Africa. The second refers to the fact that the ceramics produced by traditional Zulu potters are at last receiving the recognition they deserve, as is shown by the list of references below. These two themes provide intertwined strands which are expressed in the work of a