The Line of Succession

Globally acclaimed ceramicist and co-founder of Imiso Ceramics, Andile Dyalvane, shares how he channels his heritage through his art, and how he builds a legacy

AD: Gratitude, as a deeply embedded active discipline, is paramount as a celebration of all that I am and all that’s been gifted to me. Deep gratitude comes with offering opportunities to others to share in this practice too, within the ways gifted to them, creatively and otherwise (as healers, for example). I believe clay heals and brings together healing practices with energies, which help to guide the spirit toward inherent essential truths. The urgency of gratitude as practice is real to me.

GQ: What do you want people to see, feel and learn, when they interact with your work?

AD: More than anything, I want people to feel connected and inspired by their ancestors. To elevate into a community of thinkers who choose to acknowledge the realities of others and their stories. To be inspired to seek the truth toward understanding.

I thrive on engagement toward understanding others through the vehicle of clay, where we can celebrate the forms of our beliefs and reshape them with interaction.

GQ: As you mature, what does the idea of “wealth” mean to you? How do the ideals of “inspiration and excellence in perpetuity” connect to your work?

AD: My work speaks of experiences, and I draw these experiences from my memory. For those seeking connection across cultures, my work may bridge what they may view as potential cultural divides. Wealth exists in leadership and championing the strengths and aspects of these experiences. Creating a legacy – and creating inspiration and excellence in perpetuity – requires fresh ways of journeying toward greater, clearer understandings of who we are and our purpose per true spirit. Camagu!