Earthenware Jar 1935 - 1942

Jessica Price made this Earthenware Jar, we don't know when, but it’s rendered with watercolor. You can really see the brushstrokes, they are soft, blended washes in subdued blues and browns. Looking at it, I can imagine Jessica, perhaps working from life, looking at the jar, trying to capture its form and the way the light hits it. I wonder if she paused now and then, pondering the object, its use, its history. There's something so meditative about that act of translating a three-dimensional object onto a flat surface. I find myself drawn to the way she handled the blue floral design. Each petal and stem is carefully rendered, but there is a looseness to it, an almost improvisational quality. It's not about perfect representation, but more about capturing the essence of the design. It reminds me a bit of the way folk artists approach their work. Painters are in a constant exchange, a shared language, influencing and inspiring one another across time. The beauty of painting lies in its open-endedness, inviting us to bring our own perspectives and experiences to the work, finding new meanings and connections with each viewing.