Bowl 1970

This ceramic bowl, made by Harding Black, shimmers with colors that feel out of this world, yet totally grounded. I imagine the artist carefully mixing the glazes, testing and layering them, coaxing this cosmic effect from the clay. There's a sense of alchemy in the way the colors merge and separate, like nebulae forming in deep space. The bowl pulls you in, doesn't it? With the ring of teal punctuating its center and the edge. I wonder if Black was inspired by the vastness of the night sky or by something much closer to home, like the swirling patterns in a puddle after the rain. Like the work of other artists, the beauty of this piece lies in the ambiguity, it’s an invitation to contemplate the infinite possibilities held within a simple form. Artists are always in dialogue with one another, picking up threads of inspiration across time.