MICK'S STORY:

Mick Haigh brings nearly three decades of experience to ceramics, and works from his base in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Raised among the plants of his family's garden business, Mick developed an early appreciation for the natural environment, an influence that permeates his art.

His career in pottery started in Hogsback and grew as he established his studio in Fort Nottingham. The Anagama kiln, now rebuilt in Rosetta, is located near the clay where landscape and materials combine to inspire his work.

Philosophy Behind the Process

Mick sees his role as part participant, part observer. While he guides the clay, sets the kiln, and manages the fire, he leaves room for the materials to respond in their own way. Clay has memory. Fire has opinion.His work is not about perfection or control. It’s about learning from the process, staying present, and allowing the work to become what it needs to be.Each finished piece is a Vessel for Life, not only in its use (a bowl, a mug, a plate), but in its making. It holds time, material, weather, thought, and motion. It is not just made - it has lived through something.Every piece Mick creates is a result of time, patience, and his long-standing relationship with clay. Nothing is rushed. Each object is shaped by hand, fired with wood, and marked by its own journey through flame, ash, and air. Below is an outline of what goes into each piece from beginning to end.

Clay Gathering & Preperation
Mick hand-collects clay from a riverbank near his home in KwaZulu-Natal, valuing the physical connection to the land and preserving its natural texture, which he sees as essential to the clay’s identity.
Forming the Work
Mick forms each piece on a manual kick wheel, valuing its slower rhythm for control, and shapes vessels through wire cutting, hand-building, and intuitive distortion - guided by natural forces and a belief that form follows function, fun, and fire.
Firing in the Anagama Kiln
Mick fires his work in a wood-burning Anagama kiln, where flame, ash, and reduced oxygen create natural, unpredictable glazes; firings last up to 72 hours and are often repeated to build layers or refine each piece based on its unique response.
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