Drawing equally upon his Xhosa heritage and his contemporary urban milieu, Andile Dyalvane crafts earthy and elegant ceramic works. As he describes: “My current inspirations are drawn from my immediate environment, inner city urban life, and its relation to where I come from.” Together with fellow ceramicist Zizipho Poswa, Dyalvane runs a shop/studio, Imiso Ceramics. Melding images and experiences gleaned from his rural upbringing and his urban adulthood, he produces vessels, platters, and home furnishings covered with abstract designs and human figures. Every color and mark on his skillfully crafted pieces has meaning. His “Scarified” collection, for example, is inspired by the traditional Xhosa practice of scarification (ukuqatshulwa). Treating clay like skin, Dyalvane incises the surfaces of the vessels in this collection with lines and patterned marks, evoking and celebrating the beauty of the patterned bodies of his youth.