The artist 

 "The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect, but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the object it loves." Carl Jung

 Tina-Marié Malherbe studied graphic design at Stellenbosch University, situated in the fynbos* hinterland of the Western Cape, South Africa. After 20 years as a stylist, where she broke ground with her lifestyle and interior styling for magazines and advertising campaigns she has returned to her love for drawing plants. She now devotes her time fully to her art, illustrating delicate foliage in blue on beautiful handcrafted white plates and bowls. 

 * fine-leaved plants:a distinctive type of vegetation found only on the southern tip of Africa

 The Botanical collection

 Tina-Marié picks plants instinctively and for weeks presses her collection of leaves and flowers in large flower presses. When they are properly dried, she mounts the delicate pressed plants – roots, stems, leaves and flowers - with fine strips of masking tape on large sheets of paper, artworks on their own. 

 “Ek druk plante droog tussen lae papier. Dan ruik en voel my studio soos ‘n kweekhuis, die lug klam. Tewyl hulle stadig droog word oor die weke, ruil ek die papiere om en vorm die lote met my vingers totdat hulle mooi lê.”

 The next step takes her to her ceramics. Inspired by the delicate patterns of the dried plants, she allows them to gain a new life on her white plates and bowls, exquisitely illustrated in hues of blue. 

 Painting plants on plates (the process) 

 Tina-Marié works with the seasons and paints what is growing at that time. She is naturally drawn to the plant names of her mother tongue, Afrikaans. 

“Ek skets graag opslaanplante soos surings, kappertjies en papawers. Hulle is eerlik en ongekunsteld. En ek teken graag blare, ranke, loof en blomme met kelke. Dan sny ek met my fyn messie deur die kelk en teken hoe die stempel en stuifmeeldrade lyk.”

 It’s the delicate vulnerability of the poppy or the nastursium that attracts her, but also their strength and endurance. She focuses on capturing their finest qualities, sometimes even carefully dissecting small stamens, interpreting how they make her feel, rather than taking a photorealistic approach.  

 “Ek probeer die gevoel van die blom weergee eerder as ‘n fotorealistiese weergawe – soos die kwesbaarheid van die kroonblare of hoe geil hy rank en groei. Kappertjies voel of hulle van die bord af beur, hulle is so lewenslustig, weerbarstig en ongetem.”

 ‘n Maand vir elke bord

Tina-Marié’s passion for illustration, botanicals and blue combine almost seamlessly with a sense of time (months of the year) and a love for Afrikaans words and verse on her ‘Maand borde’.

“Soms begin ek by mooi Afrikaanse name soos koekemakranka, kappertjie, krismisroos, kooigoed, kanferfoelie, klawe … boegoe, basbessie, bloureën … en dit word ‘n bord.”

 Blue notes (On working in blue) Blue as a medium “Ek hou van blou”

 “A certain blue enters your soul.” – Henri Matisse

 She often gets asked why she works in blue? Blue eyes see blue. She almost internalizes the colour blue, its qualities flow through her being, her creative process. She will sometimes put a plate through multiple firings to build on the layers of painted blue. 

 ·      Blue and white is complete. It asks for no more. Dark inky blues give depth and pale blue washes are floaty and ethereal like the sky.

 ·      I am interested in the layering of blues. It excites me when an indigo glaze forms a dark pool next to a watery pale blue one.

 ·      Blue is airy and expansive. Blue is an ascending colour. 

 ·      I love the way blue ink flows.

 ·      I love the association with tradition that blue glaze and on white clay has.

 “Blue, darkly, deeply, beautiful blue” – Robert Southey, English poet

Contact: tina-marie@mweb.co.za