Cedar Cross c. 1937

Majel G. Claflin made this watercolor rendering of a Cedar Cross, we don't know exactly when. What strikes me most is how these repeated, almost mechanical patterns are rendered with such care. The texture is flat, of course, because it's watercolor on paper, but the mind wants to turn these crescent shapes into something dimensional. They are like tools, or teeth, or maybe even petals. See how she repeats them along the length of the cross, and how she inverts them to create a sense of balance. The choice of a pale, almost fleshy pink, lends the piece a strange intimacy. Look at where the artist has varied the pressure of their brushstrokes around the semi-circular motifs. It reminds me of the work of Forrest Bess, who also embraced this kind of personal iconography. Ultimately, it is about how we make sense of the world through symbols, and how those symbols can hold multiple meanings, all at once.