Pa. German Treen Pie Board c. 1938

Frank McEntee’s watercolor of a Pa. German Treen Pie Board is a reminder that the everyday and the handmade can hold the most beauty. I can imagine Frank, maybe sitting in his studio, or kitchen, looking intensely at the pie board. What do you focus on when you want to really *see* something? For Frank, he traces lines with his brush, noting every little detail: the way the lines on the board intersect to form a grid, the subtle curves and edges, and the delicate handle. Each mark seems to echo the hand of the pie maker. It’s a painting that invites us to consider the conversations between use, decoration, and craft. Like the work of other artists in the Index of American Design, Frank asks us to consider what it means to bring attention to these objects. They become a way for us to think about how we might value the ordinary and the made.