Bird Stick Pin c. 1937

Editor: This is "Bird Stick Pin" from around 1937, created by Tulita Westfall using watercolour and coloured pencil. It feels very delicate, like a child's drawing of fantastical accessories. What do you make of this, looking at it now? Curator: Oh, it tickles something whimsical in me! You're right, there’s a playful innocence. For me, it's about this longing for adornment, you know? Not the ostentatious kind, but the kind that whispers a little story. Imagine Westfall, dreaming up these tiny, animated objects. Are they talismans, perhaps? Each carrying its own symbolism? It feels very intimate. Editor: The size of the main bird in relation to the tiny flanking birds is interesting... Like a parent watching over children? Curator: Maybe! Or maybe it's about aspiration. That larger bird, proudly perched, represents potential, doesn’t it? The other little birds may become grand birds one day. These colors, too - gentle teal and rosy purple - what are your instincts telling you they represent? Editor: Serenity perhaps, yet tempered by boldness? It feels nostalgic in a way. Curator: Exactly! I love that you see nostalgia there. Like tiny, forgotten memories resurrected in watercolour, reminding us to discover delight in the small moments, like little trinkets worn next to the heart. Editor: Yes! A lovely little flock of fancy. I see them as little lucky charms now, not just adornments. Curator: Yes, that's what great art does – changes the way you see, changes what something *is*. And makes the heart soar, just a little bit, like these little birdies.