Brooch c. 1936

This is a drawing of a brooch made with watercolor and graphite by Kurt Melzer. Look at how Melzer imagined the brooch from different angles, presenting us with a multifaceted perspective of the design, not just its flat appearance. I'm imagining Melzer thinking about the shine of the pearl, and how the graphite catches on the paper. You know? I wonder if the pale peachy color of the pearl was intentional, to catch the light, or just happenstance of the material? I love how the bottom image, the most technical one, has ‘twice actual size’ written. It reminds me that even in the most controlled art, the artist is always thinking about scale, about size. This drawing reminds me of how all makers are having a dialogue with each other across time, inspiring one another’s creativity. Melzer is gone, but we're still chewing over what he was doing here.