The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 48 No 3 November 2009

Profile
Neil Hoffmann, Common Matter # 1, 200S Series, dolerite
and clay. wood-fired. h.2Scm. w.SOcm; photo: artist
Neil Hoffmann, Common Matter # t.
2009 Series, dolerite and clay, wood· fired,
h.4Scm. w.46cm; photo: artist
Hobart, Richardson sought time to examine his commitment to the use of local raw materials and his
connection through them to the immediate environment in which he lived. Th is period of reflection and
critical examination of his making aesthetic culminated in a reinforced commitment to what he refers to
as a 'place-based' making.
Situated along the left hand wall of the gallery, his Wedge series of shallow, irregularly angular,
footed forms, appeared to be slab-built, but were, in fact, formed by enclosing clay within clamped
formwork, a process similar to off-form concrete construction. Elegant, strikingly simple and without
extraneous decoration, they characterised negative space, their dark interiors contrasting with their
lighter exteriors. His larger, eloquent and sinuous To rso forms with their silky, sensuous surfaces, show
the imprint of shells, gathered from the beach, on which they were stacked during the firing. His Trunk
form, by contrast, bore the ridges and resulting glaze variation caused by pressing found rope into
its surface. Boulder forms, w ith their light, unctuous surfaces and delightful crescent-shaped bases,
again reflected negative spaces and displayed unusual watercolour-like blotches where wads had been
placed. The cubist Headland suggested a lighthouse or beacon, with the effects of melted ash-runs
tracking across the reduced blue-grey clay surface evoking the delineation of water and tides on sand .
All these forms are practical and functional, serving as receptacles for native grasses or perhaps nectarrich
eucalypt blossom. His series of perky vinaigrettes similarly defined his skill and expressed his ethos of
fullness in use. Richardson hopes that the owner of his pots will extend their purpose, as they are
functional containers for creative expression in domestic. daily life.
Michael Stephan lives in sout h Hobart under the imposing shoulder of Mount Wellington. His modest
studio is located under his house and is for him a sanctuary - a place in which he can produce his
unique work. There he pushes, pounds, slashes and wedges clay, cuts it with knives, wire, coiled springs
or paint scrapers, awaiting the intuitive moment of creative inspiration when an elusive idea materialises
into form. Indeed, Zen tenet 8 may well apply to him - " In emptiness, forms are born. When one
becomes empty of the assumptions, inferences and judgements he has acquired over the years, he
comes close to his original nature and is capable of conceiving original ideas and reacting freshly."
Stephan's work is essentially spontaneous and expressive, his emotions and urges informing it as it
evolves. He speaks of his imagination 'flowing in and out' and of each piece being an adventure upon
which he works rapidly. As his feelings and energy flow into the clay, the evolving form gains its own
life and story. Disliking rules and conventions, Stephan does not consider himself to be a 'technical'
20 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2009