Ohr Pottery

"It is my put and horn also, and im going to do some more shoving, pushing, hoisting, kicking, braying scratching, etc. 2 reach the goal on the true high art pottery biz." - George E. Ohr

Various types and styles of inkwells were created by Ohr to sell to the tourist trade. Novelty items such as inkwells sold to tourists, along with functional pieces for the local community, were the means by which Ohr supported his family. The cougar inkwell was made from a two-part mold and applied to a base.

According to Eugene Hecht in "After the Fire," 1994 (13), "Pot-Ohr-E-George was no ordinary tradesman who in the smoking rubble might contemplate alternatives; there were no alternatives. He had to rebuild and create again. Not just stock shelves with souvenirs, or even to make a living, but to create a body of work that would properly represent him, that would stand for him before the world and future generations."

"A curious and inventive mind is necessary to produce new and curious things." - George E. Ohr

"All pottery, when considering the glazes, owes its beauty to accident." - George E. Ohr

"I do not worship the dollar as much as I do my pots." - George E. Ohr

“The twisted, crinkled clomerations in my Art Pottery stand alone on earth – I cannot duplicate such myself.” - George E. Ohr

"Because I’m built that way—both 2 do it and 2 tell it, and all the conceit, vanity, etc. u find in this is yours to knock down, drag out, clean up and burn the debris." - George E. Ohr

"I brood over [each pot] with the same
tenderness a mortal child awakens in
its parent." - George E. Ohr

The hallmark of Ohr's art pottery was the combination of vibrant glaze colors with distinctive forms that often exaggerated the traditional styles.

After the fire Ohr began to experiment with wild new forms that were far more experimental than the pottery typical to the day. These pieces created during the years 1895-1905 are considered some of George Ohr's finest work.

"The Potter said un2 Clay 'Be. Ware'
and it was…” - George E. Ohr

"Get a Biloxi Souvenir before the potter
dies or gets a reputation." - George E. Ohr

"This Pot is here, and I am the Potter Who was." - George E. Ohr

"Only one piece of my pottery to every three hundred thousand creatures in the U.S.A." - George E. Ohr

“I make disfigured pottery – couldn’t and wouldn’t if I could make it any other way.” - George E. Ohr

“…it is as easy to pass judgment on my productions from four pieces as it would be to take four lines from Shakespeare and guess the rest." - George E. Ohr

"I am the apostle of individuality, the brother of the human race, but I must be myself, and I want every vase of mine to be itself." - George E. Ohr

“All [my] Pottery, when considering the glazes, owes its beauty to accident” - George E. Ohr

"I claim nothing in color or quality, only originality in design, a shape creator and maker." - George E. Ohr

"Colors or quality -- counts nothing –
in my creations. God put no color or
quality in SOULS." - George E. Ohr

In the early 1900s, Ohr stopped glazing pottery, leaving it in the bisque form. This last period represents his most abstract, sculptural ceramic objects. He tried his hand at new forms of artistic expression by exploring pure bisque “vessel sculptures,” extremely thin, with new twists, shapes and rhythms. Some vessels from this period are perfectly symmetrical, while others seem to move to their own rhythm.