Pa. German Wooden Acorns c. 1941

Hester Duany made this watercolor of Pa. German Wooden Acorns on paper. These acorns! They’re sitting pretty on what look like egg cups. You’ve got the big daddy acorn and the little baby acorn. Duany’s got a real knack for making these wooden objects look so smooth, almost like you could reach out and touch them. It’s all in the details – these tiny lines and shadows that give them shape and depth. Look at the way the light hits the bigger acorn, how it glows. And then there’s that little dark spot at the top, like a tiny hat. I love how she shows the process in the finished work, nothing’s too slick. It reminds me a bit of Charles Sheeler, with that same focus on simple, everyday objects. But there’s also something really personal about it. It's like she's inviting us to see the world in a new way, to find beauty in the things we often overlook. These acorns aren't just acorns; they're little sculptures, full of light and shadow and life.