Ontwerpen voor aardewerkdecoratie: appel, druif, bessen, vijg, radijs en aardbeien Possibly 1918

Theo Colenbrander’s drawing shows designs for earthenware decoration, filled with apples, grapes, berries, figs, radishes, and strawberries. I can imagine him, in his studio, surrounded by clay and glaze, making these drawings, maybe as he tried out a bunch of different ideas. I wonder what it was like to create these studies? I bet it was meditative, but also so intentional; he has to think about how these drawings are going to translate to a completely different surface with a completely different medium. I love the casualness of the composition, where the shapes are just placed on the page with what look like notes, which gives you a sense of the whole process. Artists are always talking to each other, across time and space, riffing off of each other's ideas, inspiring each other’s creativity. And at the end of the day, painting is really just another way of thinking, feeling, and experiencing the world. The image stays open, allowing multiple readings, and we get to participate in that.