Gasebalwe Seretse
2 July 2009
Veteran artist Peter Kuhlman, who is also a qualified potter, is offering basic pottery lessons that include throwing the potter's wheel, centering, pulling a cylinder, shaping, turning, coiling, slab work, sculpturing and decorating at the Thapong Visual Arts Centre in Gaborone.
"During my childhood days I loved moulding cows, horses and donkeys from the clay that I used to collect in the village, but little did I know that many years later, I would be a qualified potter," says the artist from Ledubeng ward in Otse. He adds that he is also good at making sculptures and chinaware.
Kuhlman spent his formative years in Mafikeng in South Africa where he did Standard One to Form One before moving to Madiba Secondary School in Mahalapye.
It was while at Madiba, the school that was founded by renowned educator Patrick Van Rensburg, that he learnt among other things construction and welding which he says come in handy when he needs to supplement his meagre earnings from selling art.
Unfortunately for the artist he did not do well at Madiba and had to spend most of the 80s unemployed.
Lady Luck smiled upon him in the 90s when the Integrated Field Services (IFS) offered to sponsor him to do pottery at Lekgaba Pottery Training Centre in Francistown. It was during his year-long stay at Lekgaba that he met his greatest mentors ever, Barry Mabena, David Okullo and the late Roger Nkosana.
Kuhlman fondly remembers the time he spent at the training centre where he says that he learnt all he knows there.
"The idea was that after training, I would get a grant from FAP but I twice failed to secure the grant. Although my proposals were approved I was unsuccessful because I was unable to raise the contribution that was a prerequisite," he says.
The potter says that he had hoped to use the grant to buy a potter's wheel and a kiln and when that did not materialise he worked hard to raise funds on his own. The hard working artist has so far managed to buy two potter's wheels and he has also borrowed a kiln from a friend which means he is able to take students under his wings although he insists that he would need about six potter's wheels to be more effective.
"I have noticed that pottery is dying a slow death in Botswana because people are no longer interested in the art. I am willing to teach young people the skills in both contemporary and traditional pottery," says the artist who adds that he mainly wishes to target unemployed Form Five school leavers as part of his contribution to job creation in Botswana.
Kuhlman says that he is unhappy with the fact that ever since his services were advertised in Mmegi only few students have attended his classes.
"Apart from Botlhale Primary School pupils, I have only had tourists in my classes and they are forced to cut their lessons short because they can't stay in Botswana for a long time," says the artist. Another person who shares his frustration is well-known potter Keabetswe Kanasi, who also says that her students 'drag their feet' coming once and twice a week for their lessons.
Although it is apparent that Kuhlman is willing to share his skills with others, like many artists he decries the fact that he is not getting enough support in his endeavours.
"In this country it is really hard to survive as an artist because there is no support at all.
For one to make it in the arts, you need to have exposure but if you are like me and don't have transport, you are likely to be doomed because our hosts are never willing to provide transportation during exhibitions," says the potter.
He further says that one of the pitfalls of artists in Botswana is that they are not equipped with strategies of attracting potential customers.Kuhlman, who is married, says that although he is based at Thapong, he has a workshop in Otse which his wife is running. Interestingly, one of his students is his son Brian Ratlhale, who shares his Thapong studio with him. Although everything appears bleak, the artist is adamant that he is going to fight hard to promote pottery in the country.
"It is so frustrating that with so much clay in the country, we still have to buy most of our wares from South Africa, which must stop," Kuhlman says.
A short tour of the potter's studio shows that despite his frustrations, the artist is undoubtedly gifted as he displays eye-catching chinaware, traditional pots and contemporary products. One can only hope that with his immense talent and determination, this artist would make it in this dog-eat-dog industry.
Kuhlman currently charges P 70 per day for his lessons and can be found at his studio at Thapong.
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