Zoar Colander c. 1937

Fritz Boehmer made this warm watercolor drawing of a colander; maybe he found it sitting in his kitchen. It’s a pretty straight rendering, a humble colander, but Boehmer made a little world out of it. I wonder if it was meditative for him. What was he thinking when he made it? The color palette is a muted, earthy range. He’s really thinking about the light and how it plays over the form. The light makes the inside glow, doesn't it? He must have mixed up a bunch of different hues to get the tone just right, and that off-white ground... I always find this kind of quiet observation so inspiring. It encourages us to slow down, to really see. I think a drawing like this connects to a larger conversation of artists looking at everyday objects, trying to find beauty in the mundane. That’s what making art is all about: finding inspiration in the everyday and making it new.