IN MEMORIAM
Anton van der merwe
For those of us who had the honour and the pleasure of working or living alongside Anton, there are few words that can encompass what a beautiful and creative mind and heart he carried 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.
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.
