Galena Pottery (Bowl) 1938

This is a drawing of a Galena Pottery bowl by Alfred Koehn, we don't know when. It's funny, looking at this bowl, I feel like I'm seeing a process of constant adjustment. The colors, a dance between earthy browns and greens, seem to blend and separate, creating a sense of depth that's both grounded and alive. Check out the surface – it's not just smooth; there's a bit of texture, some subtle imperfections that suggest the hand of the artist. I can almost imagine Koehn coaxing the form into existence, his touch both deliberate and yielding. Look at how the colors melt into each other near the bowl's belly, like a sunset over a field. It's soft, almost dreamlike. It makes me think of Lucie Rie, who also brought this intuitive sense of touch to her pottery, celebrating the messy, unpredictable beauty of the medium. With art, it's not about perfection. It's about the journey, the conversation between the artist and the material, and that’s what makes this drawing so compelling.