Zoar Thread Holder c. 1938

Fritz Boehmer made this watercolour and graphite drawing of a thread holder; it's a playful take on domestic craft. I'm thinking about the way it's so lovingly rendered. The maker's hand is visible in the details; you know, the stippling and those graphic sunburst motifs feel both homespun and modern. It's like Boehmer is figuring it out as he goes, letting the object itself guide the process. What was he thinking about when he was making this? I feel like artists are always in conversation with one another across time, inspiring each other's creativity. This image and its little shelves evoke for me a place for a painter’s materials, too. It’s a reminder that art-making is an embodied, tactile experience. It embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, and that's what makes it so alive, don't you think?