Bowl 1895 - 1913

This vessel by George Ohr at The Met twists with the potential to become something else. I like to imagine him, his hands covered in clay, coaxing this form, giving it those wild, almost wind-blown curves. It makes me think about how making art is like dancing with the material, a give and take, a conversation. The stripes in the clay, the way the colors shift from warm to cool, it's all part of the story. Ohr was definitely having a dialogue with his medium, pushing it, challenging it, and the result is this funny, wonky form. The guy was known as the "mad potter of Biloxi" for good reason! He knew, like all artists know, that you have to embrace the unexpected, the mistakes, the surprises, and let them guide you. Ohr's bowl is a reminder that art doesn't always have to be perfect, it just has to be real.