Stoneware Churn c. 1937

This is Annie B. Johnston's Stoneware Churn, made with watercolor and graphite on paper. The ochre gradients of colour describe this vessel so delicately; it's like she's building up the form from the bottom up. The churn is painted with an incredible softness, almost as if she’s caressing it with colour. You can imagine Johnston's attention to detail, how she carefully renders the zig-zag pattern near the top and the gentle curve of the handle. I wonder, what was it like for her, painting this? What was she thinking about? Was she contemplating its purpose, its history, or simply its form and texture? She's inviting us into her world, one stroke at a time. It's like she is asking: How does the way we render something change the way we see it?