Nesta Nala
Nesta Nala was a Zulu-speaking artist working in the medium of clay.
Biography
Born in Oyaya, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Nala dug her clay locally and created ceramics in the ukhamba and uphiso forms. These ceramic vessels are most well known as beer pots, used for drinking and serving sorghum beer.Nala was taught ceramics by her mother's and grandmother's generations, including from her mother Siphiwe MaS'Khakhane Nala.
Nesta Nala's daughters continue her legacy and create ceramics. These daughters include Bongikile, Jabulile, Thembile, Zanele, and Nonhlanhla.
Nala influenced many contemporary ceramic artists who have been inspired by the Zulu-speaking ceramic style of creating burnished beer pots. Clive Sithole, a contemporary artist who was born in Soweto and traces his family to the KwaZulu-Natal region, worked with Nesta Nala during his early years and considers her to be a major influence in his career. Ian Garrett, a ceramist living in the Western Cape region, wrote his Master's of Fine Art thesis on Nala and documented Nala's emergence as an artist selling ceramics in urban South Africa, particularly during the 1980s.