BLACK WING CLAY
Ben Waterman and Tolley Rippon are ceramicists and surfers based in Santa Cruz. They both come from a mixed media background but found themselves drawn to the medium of clay. For their collaboration with Palette, they were first commissioned for making coffee cups, and since then, they have created an array of dinnerware that speak to the restaurant's coastal theme. Here is what they said in our 40 minutes of the phone conversation
PHONE CONVERSATION WITH BEN AND TOLLEY
[04-29-2022 18:00:00]
Clay is autobiographical because it recognizes the touch. And when you create something, especially something as unpretentious as clay, it takes on a life of its own and journeys through this world through the passing of hands. Clay speaks more directly about the unity of humanity.
Peter is extremely direct and truthful about every keynote. He allows people to speak with the medium and has never asked them to do anything outside of what they consider to be their integrity. He celebrates art and artists while being honorific of his space because art and craft are successful when it is anti-isolative, working well in the environment it is in. So the key to collaboration is to listen to each other, pay attention to the function of the space, and inspire each other to re-envision what could be better. Take a plate, for example, the angle and dimensions could give a different feel for each bite in the mouth. With Palette, Peter is asking everyone to look deeply into life and to develop a language together.
Palette is also very unique in that it asks you: why are we so dependent on the idea of galleries to look for Bay Area art. Our culture shouldn’t tell us what to look at and what to like. Closing the gallery part of the restaurant yanked art off the walls, but art is still everywhere in the space. At the end of the day, art has to be in alignment with the world, time, experience, and emotions. It is not on walls, because if you can put your finger on contemporary art, then you’ve missed it.