Pottery Flower Pot c. 1937

Annie B. Johnston made this Pottery Flower Pot, sometime between 1855 and 1995. It's all about a kind of careful attention, using a limited palette of earthy browns and tans, and really observing the small details. I love that this is a watercolour, a humble and accessible medium, not trying to be fancy. It’s all about the surface, the texture of the clay – the way the light catches on those tiny imperfections. See those delicate cracks near the top edge? They tell a story of use, of time passing. And the soft, almost imperceptible gradations of color create a sense of volume. It's not just a flower pot, it's a portrait of an object, a celebration of the everyday. You know, it reminds me of some of Giorgio Morandi's still life paintings, those quiet arrangements of bottles and jars. It has the same sense of contemplation, the same way of finding beauty in the ordinary. Art is just an ongoing conversation with each other, across time, like a group of friends chatting about flower pots.