Ceramic artist Madoda Fani is set to lead one of the workshops during the fifth Summer Session at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine in the US this August. Fani previously spent time at Haystack in 2019 when he assisted fellow ceramicist Andile Dyalvane during his Summer Session workshop.

Titling his workshop Masibambe (Soul Shaping into Clay), Fani will focus on the fundamentals of hand-building techniques such as coiling, decorating using carving techniques, burnishing and smoke-firing. An intuitive approach to mark-making is paramount to Fani’s practice; for him, this instinct is essential to how an artist relates to their environment and adapts in different settings.

Fani has burnished his ceramics with the same semi-precious stone for decades, developing a ritualistic and emotive attachment to the tool. His participation in the Summer Session workshops at Haystack is an opportunity for skills transferal, particularly in the Southern African tradition of smoke-fired ceramics – which is said to be even more powerful when others bear witness to it. But the workshop is about cultural exchange as well – something that resonates deeply with Fani.
Alongside ceramics, this year’s programme also offers a range of other workshops covering various mediums and techniques, including blacksmithing, fibre, graphics, wood, glass, mixed media and metals.

Haystack is an international craft school located on the Atlantic Ocean in Deer Isle, Maine. Founded in 1950 by a group of craftspeople, the vision was to connect people through craft and to create a research and studio programme in the arts that was all-inclusive. Today it offers one and two-week studio workshops to participants of all skill levels, as well as the two-week Open Studio Residency programme.