Fresh Talent: Get clay, make something

Elizabeth Jane Balcomb, winner of the 2014 Sasol New Signatures Art competition, says being able to say "I am an artist" is "heaven on earth".

The self-taught, Durban-based artist beat 587 local hopefuls with her sculptural pieces from The weighed and measured series, 'I am you'&'Survival'. She won a coveted solo exhibition at the Pretoria Arts Museum next year and R100000.

Balcomb has been a full-time sculptor for five years, but says she initially had no intention of making money from art.

"I've always been good at art, ever since I was young, but I was too afraid to make money off it because art is personal," she says. "I wanted to make what I wanted to make without needing to make money, so I made money off something else and made my art for myself."

She remembers how she first started making art. "I got clay [and] gave myself 10 minutes to make something and just did it."

The pressure of having to make something immediately helps with procrastination, she says.

She taught herself the basics and went on to learn through the Ceramic Association in Durban. "They taught me a lot regarding my clay technique."

After some convincing from friends, Balcomb submitted her work for the Sasol New Signatures Art competition.

"I have done so many hours of solid work in my studio and [I've been] getting a lot of positive input from people who are important to me, I'm getting confident in my work."

She was dubbed the best at this year's competition, but remains grateful for the accolade as she also recognises that an art competition is largely subjective.

"Art is a matter of opinion. Two things got me here - my talent and the taste of the judges," she says.

She says she's constantly learning. "I have a voice in my head that teaches me a lot of technique. I have a teacher in my head teaching me all the time."

For her exhibition next year, Balcomb plans to take it up a notch.

She is studying painting and drawing and is already hard at work on a new sculpture. She says she's constantly motivated.

"I've already started working. I go to bed with all these pictures in my mind."

• The Sasol New Signatures art exhibition is on at the Pretoria Art Museum until October 19. www.sasolsignatures.co.za

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