Jordana Lyden-Swift is a ceramicist based in Johannesburg. Her journey to ceramics was not a direct one. She studied Art & Design at Chelsea College of Arts in London, going on to qualify and practice around the globe as an architect for a decade. Irish by birth, she relocated to Johannesburg in 2019 where she discovered ceramics, training at the Kim Sacks school. The turbulent years of the pandemic allowed her space to focus and develop this newfound passion. Her unique hand-built pieces display her architectural love of form, whilst allowing space for ornamentation and story telling. The illustrations aim to evoke feminine resilience in both the figurative and botanical representations, though she encourages the onlooker to overlay their own narratives. Jordana recently won the prestigious Van Tuyl Kiln Award at the CSA Gauteng Regional Exhibition. She is continually developing her practice, systematically pushing the boundaries of her skills and knowledge base.