Ontwerpen voor een driedelig stel van aardewerk: een dekselvaas en twee pullen Possibly 1920 - 1929

Editor: This pencil drawing, "Ontwerpen voor een driedelig stel van aardewerk: een dekselvaas en twee pullen" –roughly, "Designs for a three-part pottery set: a lidded vase and two jugs" – by Theo Colenbrander, seems like it might have been made sometime in the 1920s. I'm immediately struck by the delicate lines, almost like a whisper of an idea. It feels very preliminary and personal. What catches your eye when you look at this piece? Curator: You know, it’s funny, I almost feel like I'm intruding on a private moment, flipping through the artist's sketchbook! There's something wonderfully vulnerable about these initial explorations, before the idea is fully formed. I am thinking how his first, playful encounter could have led to a finished art-deco-ish ceramic creation. It feels like an artifact unearthed from the creative psyche itself. It's all playful swirls. Does the unfinished nature of the sketch change your appreciation for the finished ceramics it might have inspired, do you think? Editor: That’s a great point about it being a look into his process! Knowing it's a preliminary sketch makes me appreciate the finished pieces, because they are absent but still right there, almost imagined in a tangible way.. Curator: It reminds me that even the most polished artwork began with these messy, searching lines, these little stabs in the dark. Perhaps it’s a lesson for us all, eh? Embrace the imperfect beginnings, the whimsical, the half-formed thoughts, for they often hold the seed of something beautiful. Editor: That’s definitely something I’ll remember, especially when I'm stuck on a project! Thank you!