If you've had the good fortune to dine at some of the best restaurants in Bristol within the past few years, then chances are you may have already been up close and personal with Alice Watkins' work. A ceramicist and visual artist from Greenbank in Bristol, Alice produces crockery that is sometimes abstract, often subversive but always sublime, which has proved popular with top restauranteurs looking to add a touch of high drama to their diners' experience.
It turns out that theatrical drama is something Alice is a bit of an expert in. Trained in fine art, she worked as a scenic artist for over 20 years, including a decade at the Royal Shakespeare Company, a job that allowed her to travel the world, from working on sets in China in the dead of winter to painting scenery in the humidity of jungle in Singapore.
When creating sets and props, Alice would use her artistic skills to help conjure up a designer's vision, both tricking and treating the audience's eye. One of the final commissions she did before the pandemic was a magnificent trompe l'oeil curtain for Bristol Old Vic's touring production of Cyrano, which got stuck in China during the pandemic but is now back and in use as the theatre's permanent front cloth.
