Atelier NL- Polderceramics

Here's the link, but I thought this was definitely worth a read:

"Artists have long explored the significance of ‘place’ – as a 
site of history and identity; as a dynamic process in constant
flux; and as a politically charged way to both challenge and
contextualise the world. For Atelier NL, the Eindhoven-based
design studio of Lonny van Ryswyck and Nadine Sterk, the
place in question was the Noordoostpolder region of central
Netherlands.

At the invitation of Jurgen Bey and Rianne Makkink the
designers took up residence in the area to better study the
social and agricultural nuances of the region. As the Noord-
oostpolder had been integral to the Dutch land reclamation
acts of the twentieth century, carried out in order to improve
flood protection and create additional land for agriculture,
the area is rich with both historical and geological disparity.
Atelier NL’s Drawn From Clay series embodies all these
local distinctions as each piece was made from a specific
plod of soil taken from each of the different farms they
accessed across the 460 square kilometre polder. As Sterk
explains, ‘A bucket filled with earth is anonymous, but the
stories of the farmer who works the earth lend it its identity.’

The overriding principal behind the series was to keep the
symbiosis between object and origin as pure and integral as
possible. ‘We wanted to make tableware so that the vegeta-
bles prepared for dinner could be served from vessels made
from the same soil the vegetables came out of,’ explains
Van Rijswijck. The designers simply refined then mixed each
individual batch of soil with water to form malleable clays,
before cast-moulding each piece at a consistent temperature
in order to compare and contrast the resultant differences
between colour and texture from the various soils. To further
the correlation Atelier NL both devised a systematic ratio
system for the size of each piece and stamped each vessel
with a geo-code reference to match the plot from whence
the soil came.         

By rendering visible the close relationship between vegetation
and clay and, hence, between origin and identity, the Drawn
from Clay series emphasises Atelier NL’s sensitive, respectful
and informed approach to design."

Text Libby Sellers
Photography Paul Scala