Tea bowl with Frog design c. 20th century

Bernard Leach made this tea bowl with a frog design at some point in his career; what a lovely little pot! It is like a little world in itself. I imagine Leach gently coaxing the clay into shape, feeling its cool, damp surface yield to his touch. Then he paints the image with bold strokes of cobalt blue, capturing the essence of the frog and a simplified landscape with such immediacy. Did he do it in one go, or did he keep going back, adjusting the image? I love to imagine the concentration of the artist, but also the joy of letting go, as the frog leaps out from the surface of the bowl. It makes me think about the ongoing conversation between artists across time and space. Looking at this bowl, I feel connected to Leach's practice, to his interest in Japanese pottery, and to the long history of ceramics as a form of expression. It reminds me that art is never created in a vacuum, and that each work builds upon the ideas and innovations of those who came before.