The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 54 No 1 April 2015

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The Fu nction of Art, The Art of Function were just three months to produce all the tableware for a 45-seat restaurant specialising in using local produce, foraged ingredients and natural wines on shared tables with a no-booking policy - at the time a revolution for Hobart. The restaurant opened just before another revolution struck Tasmania - the opening of MONA, the Museum of Old and New Art, the irreverent and subversive brainchild of David Walsh. This brought the interest and focus of the world to Tasmania and this restaurant with a strong design focus that included handmade contemporary tableware made an immediate impact. That impact started when you came through the door and saw the communal hardwood tables set with charcoal glazed place plates. Then came the shared plates - a series of walled servers, versatile shallow bowls used for hot and cold dishes, finishing with deeper bowls for dessert. The food, that was innovative with clean fresh flavours, looked great on charcoal and grey with the occasional bone-white intruder. During the last five years the restaurant has functioned almost as a de facto private gallery, allowing my work to be seen and enjoyed in context. It has confirmed my feeling that 'working pots' seen and enjoyed in creative use almost sell themselves. The opportunity to experience the pots in a setting where they are an integral part of the overall dining experience has created strong demand for that work, with orders from all over the country and enquiries from as far away as London, Dubai and Taipei. It has been a way to make contact with people who I always felt were out there and would be interested in what I was making, but I really didn't have a way to find and connect with them. It has led to commissions not only for the restaurant tableware but also for a variety of woodfired work - in contrast each has a chance to show its individual face. Recently we made a series of Garagistes walled servers for a major Tourism Australia function at MONA - guest chef Ben Shewry from Attica restaurant in Melbourne had insisted on using handmade tableware for his signature dish and with a few days to spare we managed to deliver 280 bowls for a dinner with international exposure. It's been a wild ride and demand for the tableware far exceeds our ability to supply and I am constantly trying to persuade potential clients to develop a relationship with potters close to them - to build contacts with local makers in the same way they do with specialty produce suppliers. However the reply often comes back that they have tried that and either can't find anyone interested or able to make the work, or often they aren't able to get the glaze colour and finish that they want. Interestingly, the chefs we work with accept variation in colour and minor imperfections as expressions of the process - how things have changed from the blank canvas of clinical industrial porcelain. Our tableware for Garagistes restaurant was recently described as having" ... a vibrancy of the slightly incomplete." 1 I found this an apt and perceptive comment, as this is work that finds its complete expression in the fullness of use. http://ridgelinepottery.com.au 1 Breytenbach Yvette, 'Understatement', Ceramic Review, Issue 262 July/August 201 3 20 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS APRIL 2015
The Function of Art. The Art of Fun ction 1 Ben Richardson, 2012, tableware, Garagistes restaurant in Hobart Photo: Jonathan Wherrett 2 Ben Richardson in his studio, 2014; photo: Jonathan Wherren 3 Savour Tasmania, 201" Marco Canora@ Garagistes: photo: Chris Crerar 4 Ben Richardson, 2012. tableware, Garagistes restaurant, Hobart Photo: Jonathan Wherrett THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS APRIL 201S 21
Page 2 and 3: WALKER ~ Feeneys Clay Cesca Glazes
Page 4 and 5: Please complete using UPPER CASE wh
Page 6 and 7: Contents REGULARS 60 VIEW 1: The Do
Page 8: Contributors Kelly Austin is a Cana
Page 13: Shards Entries now open VICTORIAN C
Page 16: Focus: The Function of Art. The Art
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Page 38 and 39: Mel Robson. Suzi lyon and members o
Page 40 and 41: period of a month it grew and evolv
Page 43 and 44: The Function of Art, The Art of Fun
Page 47 and 48: Kelly Austin, Monster Small Dishes,
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Page 64 and 65: View I The Domestic Artist The art
Page 66 and 67: Melanie Jayne, Peppermint 2015, lum
Page 68 and 69: View 2 Ceramics by Stephen Bird 1 B
Page 70 and 71: Education Pathways to Practice Lou
Page 72 and 73: Sarah Ormonde, Sutton Grange: Fox C
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Pocket PhD Brett Smout Explores Low
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Studio Inside the Studio of Ramesh
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Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran Idol, 201
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Studio VG : Your work is described
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Linda Seiffert, Cascade Artist Stud
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Gatherings Baptism of Fire The rebi
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Gatherings --------- Preparation of
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Community Touch This Earth Lightly:
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THE TRUDIE ALFRED BEQUEST CERAMIC S
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Asso ci ation The Trudie Alfred Beq
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Asso cia tion Kylie Rose McLean Adv
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Asso ciation Left: Ingo Svendsen, I
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Ceramic Shots Equal second: above,
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Ceramic Shots 1 Photographer: Dave
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AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS TRIENNALE 2015
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Australian Ceram ics Triennale 2 01
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Claypool is a communal ceramics fac
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Ever heard of a frog cake? For thos
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Farewell Ceramics Victoria 1969-201
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Stockists ACT canberra potters soci
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Connect. promote & engage with our
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Classifieds CERAMIC SUPPLIES ~~~~ B
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Clay Extruder -all stainless steel
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SYDNEY POTTERY SUp~~0> OUTLET V . C
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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT with Ingrid Tu
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TURN TURN TURN THE STUDIO CERAMICS
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o CH I NO LOY A dedicated space for
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ceramic design studio www.facebook.
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Bruce Walford (NZ) Ted Secombe (VIC
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POTTERY SUPPLIES Convenient Central
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The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 54 No 1 April 2015

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