Her pottery talent was awakened in the studio of famed potter Digby Hoets, and today Daleen’s beautiful ceramic pieces are on display in her office in Building 7 on our campus in Vanderbijlpark.

 

“I only realised what an incredible opportunity I was exposed to when I arrived at Digby’s class. We worked in an unbelievable studio and learnt so much from a man with a remarkable knowledge of the art,” she recalls.  Digby Hoets has been teaching pottery since 1973 and you could say he is pottery royalty.  His sister, Leslie-Ann Hoets, owns a studio in Sedgefield, Western Cape and his brother, Garth Hoets, works from Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal.

 

Her passion lives on

 

When Daleen’s journey took her to the Vaal Triangle – where she is currently the executive assistant to Prof Susan Coetzee-Van Rooy, the acting executive dean of the Faculty Humanities – she had to give up her beloved pottery for three years. Her passion never left her, though, and she later reconnected with Digby who agreed she could work in his studio once a month and that he would fire her pieces. As Daleen does sculpting rather than so-called “wheel work”, she could also take clay home and continue with the art she loves so much.

 

Her creativity knows no boundries

 

Daleen’s talents are not limited to pottery; she also quilts, weaves and designs clothes, including her daughter’s wedding dress. Her creativity even extends to cake decorating and painting.

 

She still manages to find time for yet another pastime. “I must also admit to being a fanatical reader,” she smiles.

 

Inevitably, her love of the arts was passed on to her daughter, Nina, who attended the Pro-Arte Alphen Park High School in Pretoria. However, Nina’s strengths are in the performing arts, specifically in singing and drama. “Today she is an attorney in Melbourne, Australia,” says Daleen. “We visit at least once a year and we are currently doing needlecraft together via the internet.”

 

Her roots lie deep

 

Even though she has been working at the campus since 2009, Daleen’s roots at the NWU are a lot deeper.  She is an alumna of the NWU’s campus in Potchefstroom where she started as a BA Languages student in 1979. Her father, the late Prof Josef Henning, is a legend in the NWU’s political sciences sphere and her mother – also a product of the NWU – is currently a retired teacher after years of service at Potchefstroom Gymnasium.

 

So, what is next for Daleen? Woodwork! Daleen’s husband, Willem, has all the tools and machinery needed, and he can teach her. But that is not all; she would also like to work with silver and make jewellery.

 

No one can foretell the future, but in Daleen’s case you know it will be filled with creativity.