The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 52 No 1 April 2013

Up the Commission Path
Production
Ware in a
Digital Age
Stephen Benwell interviews
Christopher Plum ridge
While having a telephone conversation with
my friend Chris Plumridge about his recent
commission, I asked to see an image of the
work. Down the wire came a photo of the
ceramic sculpture in question - a trophy stack
of cool-hued, teetering shapes. Chris had made
eighty-five of them to grace the tables at the
Australian Business Arts Foundation (AbaF)
awards night at Peninsula, an events centre at
Docklands in Melbourne in late 2012.
For a potter like myself, there is virtue in
not making two pieces the same. In contrast,
the clean repetition of produdion pottery can
seem an alien proposition. I am curious to
know more about the world of the potter who
makes to order and for whom a stray dribble or
unplanned mark spells failure.
I passed the idea of an article about Chris by
Vicki Grima. With her encouragement, I drive
to Chris's studio, one of a small complex of red
brick fadories, in a bayside suburb 20 km from
Melbourne's CBD. His neighbours are cabinet
makers, metal workers and plastic model
makers - all professional, technical businesses
of single operators.
We sit down to talk next to benches piled
w ith plaster moulds, pots, buckets, and
AbaF Award on the table at lhe award night
Photo: courtesy Creative Partnerships Australia
and Trudi Sheppard
THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS APRIL 2013 93