Tradition and innovation : Rorke's Drift ceramics in the collection of the Durban Art Gallery, KwaZulu-Natal.

Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005The Rorke's Drift Art and Craft Centre is examined in its historical context. In order to place the pottery workshop in the context of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELC) Arts and Crafts Centre, the history of the centre's other workshops, Fabric printing and Weaving as well as the Fine Art School will be compared and contrasted. The pottery workshop is investigated and compared with the printmaking of Rorke's Drift. A selection of Rorke's Drift ceramics from the Durban Art Gallery's collection has been selected and examined to determine some of the stylistic changes that have occurred in the Rorke's Drift Pottery studio from 1970 to 1994. Fifteen works appear in an illustrated catalogue which examines the imagery and stylistic content of each work. The similarities between the prints of Rorke's Drift artists and the ceramics are explored; gender issues are analysed