Jump to content

Tableware from leftovers - good gimmick?


Recommended Posts

https://nyti.ms/34ROrkx

This potter convinced a farm-to-table restaurant to include dinnerware in its ethos. He takes their beef bones, calcines them, adds kaolin and Cornish stone and thin-casts cups, bowls and plates, oxidation fired to 2400F. Being very thin, the cups and bowls warp so that each is different. No glaze is mentioned for his once-fire, maybe they self-glaze?

This all seems pretty precious to me - a Concept gimmick. I'd hate to be the dishwasher there, and storage? No stacking!

I also wonder if the potter picks up and recycles the shards from inevitable breakage. He could make wall mosaics, maybe a frieze?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He's making bone china. It's similar to Corelle in how vitreous it is, so it might not require a glaze. It does indeed warp like the devil.

In terms of making a statement about waste vs value, particularly in regards to our food and where it comes from, and the objects we own, it makes a lot of sense. I like the symmetry of it. Dining at places like this is supposed to incorporate a higher level of experience and attention to detail than just eating because you're hungry. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't read the article or see the pictures, but if it's just unglazed slipcast bone china it sounds pretty boring to me.  There are a bunch of these restaurants around me, but I could never afford to eat at one so how I feel about their dishes isn't very important haha.

 

I will say though that it would take a hell of a lot of dead cows to make enough bone ash to sustain making dishes for a restaurant, wonder if he sources it all from them

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chefs generally want their food to shine, not be overpowered by the dishes: not too many places want dishes with any kind of colour other than white. Grey or soft brown are daring choices in the food world. The pieces in the article are definitely in the minimalist category. They seem to all start out as cylinders with a bit of flare, and warp pretty good in the kiln. Very delicate, and they have some animation. It's all about the form. The cups look like you have to think about how you're going to hold it and drink, which makes another argument for it being about this being about being present, and thinking about eating.

And my guess is the bones from the restaraunt are only part of the bone ash in the clay recipe. That part's probably gimmick. A lot of high art is. (Wall bananas, anyone?)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Min said:

If he truly is concerned with the planet then he wouldn't be eating cows and using their bones as a flux. 

It's definitely not a concerned with the planet situation, just the act of making bone ash from bones is far more damaging than the bones being composted or sent to a landfill.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Callie Beller Diesel said:

Chefs generally want their food to shine, not be overpowered by the dishes: not too many places want dishes with any kind of colour other than white. Grey or soft brown are daring choices in the food world. The pieces in the article are definitely in the minimalist category. They seem to all start out as cylinders with a bit of flare, and warp pretty good in the kiln. Very delicate, and they have some animation. It's all about the form. The cups look like you have to think about how you're going to hold it and drink, which makes another argument for it being about this being about being present, and thinking about eating.

And my guess is the bones from the restaraunt are only part of the bone ash in the clay recipe. That part's probably gimmick. A lot of high art is. (Wall bananas, anyone?)

It's lazy in my mind, a great gimmick to get you into the new york times though.  A good example of a great chef + potter collaboration is jereds pottery in the San francisco area.  The forms are well thought out to showcase food without taking the spotlight.   Chefs seek his work because they know he is mindful of these things. He's another Potter that gets into the news quite frequently but because of his mindfulness, not because of a gimmick.  

https://medium.com/@JeredsPottery/young-potter-re-pottery-for-chefs-a1143d9213e4

Link to comment
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, liambesaw said:

I can't read the article or see the pictures

Liam, this is a link to the potter, Gregg F. Moore, you can see the pots there. 

This quote from the NYTimes article is priceless: “What differentiates bone china from all other ceramic materials is that it’s made out of an element that was once living,” Moore says. “So it has the ability to express, if we look carefully enough, the quality of life of that living entity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, liambesaw said:

It's lazy in my mind, a great gimmick to get you into the new york times though.  A good example of a great chef + potter collaboration is jereds pottery in the San francisco area.  The forms are well thought out to showcase food without taking the spotlight.   Chefs seek his work because they know he is mindful of these things. He's another Potter that gets into the news quite frequently but because of his mindfulness, not because of a gimmick.  

https://medium.com/@JeredsPottery/young-potter-re-pottery-for-chefs-a1143d9213e4

Great article with all the practical things carefully thought out. Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, Min said:

Liam, this is a link to the potter, Gregg F. Moore, you can see the pots there. 

This quote from the NYTimes article is priceless: “What differentiates bone china from all other ceramic materials is that it’s made out of an element that was once living,” Moore says. “So it has the ability to express, if we look carefully enough, the quality of life of that living entity.

That cracked me up, too! Thanks for adding the link.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/11/2019 at 6:53 AM, Rae Reich said:

That cracked me up, too! Thanks for adding the link.

Me too, marketing gobbledigoolch extraordinaire:-)))))00000))))

Coming out of the cowyard the last thing I want to ponder when looking deeply into my cup of tea are cows!.

And if I do want to contemplate cows...guess what?

Rather gruesome link imo.

Used to make drinkung vessels from the horns I believe...next step?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, terrim8 said:

I know someone that is looking for real bone ash for her bone china instead of the synthetic commonly available now. She has looked to local farmers but found it didn't fire white enough. Alberta cows must have too much iron in their bones!!!

You can buy it from uspigment (https://uspigment.com/product/bone-ash-natural/)

Natural bone ash probably has all sorts of contaminants, which is why tricalcium phosphate is preferred now

Link to comment
Share on other sites

( tricalcium phosphate) I use this material in my high purity iron glaze its a bit spendy even for me as a distributor.around 200$ for a large bag of it if I recall last springs order.

alonge with supoer high purity red iron my red/black glaze also known as tenmaku to some is almost red in color and has great depth compared to regular bone askh and regular iron oxide.

In terms of super strength I'm with Neil I'm sure I can break  that stuff.

I will give him credit for marketing the hype job and getting some bites .NY times will help spread the info as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, Mark C. said:

( tricalcium phosphate) I use this material in my high purity iron glaze its a bit spendy even for me as a distributor.around 200$ for a large bag of it if I recall last springs order.

alonge with supoer high purity red ikron my red/black glaze also known as temmaku to some is almost red in color and has great depth compared to regular bone askh and regular iron oxide.

In terms of super strength I'm with Neil I'm sure I can break  that stuff.

I will give him credit for marketing the hype job and getting some bites .NY times will help spread the info as well.

Yeah your teadust temmoku is beautiful, I use the mug you gave me every day!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, terrim8 said:

I know someone that is looking for real bone ash for her bone china instead of the synthetic commonly available now. She has looked to local farmers but found it didn't fire white enough. Alberta cows must have too much iron in their bones!!!

I still have real bone ash -I did not know its gone now. I rarely use it now that I have that newer tenmaku recipe which was from a CM  about 5 years ago by the way-cone 10

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.