Pa. German Chalkware Squirrel c. 1939

Editor: Here we have Inez McCombs' "Pa. German Chalkware Squirrel" from around 1939. It looks like a watercolor and graphite drawing. I’m struck by its almost haunting quality. What kind of story do you think this piece is trying to tell? Curator: Ah, a haunting indeed, like a forgotten lullaby. I see a whimsical charm fighting its way through the muted palette. McCombs captured not just a squirrel, but a symbol, almost totemic. Pennsylvania German folk art often embraces this duality - joy and melancholy intertwined. What do you make of the squirrel’s expression? Does it seem entirely…content? Editor: Not really! There's something almost sad about its eyes. Like it knows more than it's letting on. I’m curious, what's the story behind chalkware figures anyway? Curator: Imagine poorer communities, craving beauty, mimicking the wealthier homes with their fancy ceramics. Chalkware was their accessible art form: plaster figures brightly painted. McCombs' watercolor preserves that essence, that aspiration towards beauty amidst simplicity. A longing for joy in everyday life. Does knowing this change how you feel about that "haunting" quality? Editor: Absolutely. It shifts it from something eerie to something…tender. It's like a memory of a dream, faded but still present. Curator: Precisely. It is the whisper of yesterday's dreams and tomorrow's hopes painted onto the humblest of objects. A very human longing, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Definitely. Thanks, I see this little squirrel in a whole new light now. Curator: My pleasure. Now I see a different forest in my mind's eye too, one painted in watercolors and brimming with folklore.