“Big guy” Steve Meise – East London’s gentle giant

A gardener, a drummer, a seamster and a potter – all rolled up into one person.  Some people in life are blessed with one talent, others seem to excel at whatever they try their hand at. One such person is East London born Steve Meise, a man with many artistic talents.

Steve began his journey of crafting at a tender age in Standard 3 when he would make little boxes out of paper for classmates, earning 20 cents here, 30 cents there. This ingenuous idea not only provided a novelty for his friends but fuelled his passion for working with his hands.

Steve grew up in Cambridge and comes from a loving family who have encouraged him all the way in his work. He attended what was then Vincent School in Sub A, until it merged with Clifton School and became Hudson Park, going on to Cambridge Junior in Standard 4 and then Cambridge Secondary. Deciding to learn a trade, he went to East London Tech to become an Electrician but found that his heart wasn’t in it and, truth be told, that he was stalling the inevitable event of being called up to the Army. When he was finally conscripted to the Navy, after just three months at college, he was discharged on a G5 K5 after convincing officials that he wasn’t the kind of guy they wanted. At the age of 18 and being a somewhat rebellious type at that stage, he believed in peace but didn’t feel that the army was necessarily the best way to achieve it.

For the next three years, Steve had various odd jobs in and around East London until his creative streak led him to making clothes: he worked with Callico, printing silkscreen images on the fabric, colour dyeing and then sewing them up. The styles were mainly African and fantasy prints which were tremendously popular. His company was called ‘Dootdoot’ (taken from the name of an album by European band Freur) and he worked alongside his then girlfriend and fellow seamstress for about 7 years, selling the clothes at markets in Grahamstown and Jeffrey’s Bay.

At the age of 27 (and after the demise of his relationship), Steve met a guy called John Steele one night while he was gigging at the Lock Street Jail with his then band.  John was a master Potter and invited Steve to his place where he “let him loose” in his pottery studio… a combination of his love of working with clay and a natural talent was evident, leading him to work and learn alongside another friend, Mark. Together they called themselves The Lonely Hearts Club as they had both recently come out of long-term relationships and were licking their wounds… and what better way to heal than to keep occupied and pour your heart into a beautiful craft such as pottery.

The landscape gardening that Steve had been doing since late teens (following in the footsteps of his mother and grandmother) then led to the idea of making plants pots, mainly for the succulents that he is so fond of. The first batch of pots that he made were all different types of ‘heads’. Taking them to Grahamstown Festival was a successful trip where he sold the whole batch of 15 and from there he realised that he needed to make moulds for his sculptures, something that he taught himself over time in order to bulk sell.

Steve’s sculptures and variety of ceramics then took him to Johannesburg, where he stayed for 3 years doing tremendously well working the many markets.  He returned to East London at the age of 33 and settled down at Idaho Farm in Gonubie where he designed his own ceramics studio and continued with markets, but after a couple of years Steve’s lifestyle at that time sadly caught up with him and he was forced to take a bit of a break.  This break turned out to be exactly what Steve needed in his life and after an invitation to Church one Sunday, he was asked if he would consider leading a ceramics class at a camp that had been organised. Reluctant at first, Steve accepted the invitation and realised that it was exactly what he wanted to do… teach others what he loved to do the most and, being the spiritual person that he is, through the word of God.

From there, Steve has gone on to lead a variety of classes in ceramics, from birthday parties and cell groups to team building workshops and teaching underprivileged children. He is still working the markets around East London but focusing primarily on teaching and giving classes.  In between this, Steve fuels his passion for music and is the percussionist for Gonubie-based band, Can of Worms, playing congos, bongos and djembe.  The band is relatively new to the scene in East London so has only played a few gigs around the city so far but the live music scene is no stranger to Steve who also played drums and bass for bands such as The Stiltskins, Not Even The TV and Serotonin.

Amidst such a hectic lifestyle, Steve also teaches drums on a traditional kit during the week and then balances everything by spending time with his daughter Simone, his pride and joy. As for future plans, he hopes to continue teaching through the Church and to become involved in upliftment programs around East London.

A wonderful guy with a huge heart, Steve is brimming with creative talent that he is longing to share with people.  So if you have ever thought that you would love to try pottery (or watched the movie ‘Ghost’ and thought how you’d like to recreate that one scene!), you can connect with Steve via his Facebook page. All ages and all levels welcome!