Pa. German Toy Rooster c. 1939

Betty Jean Davis made this "Pa. German Toy Rooster" with who knows what—watercolor maybe?— on paper. Look at how each little gouge is rendered with such care. I wonder if Davis knew how many layers of meaning she was embedding in this image. I can imagine her sketching and painting each feather, trying to capture that sense of wonder in the wood. Maybe she was thinking about how light hits objects, or the simple joy of childhood, while she worked. It makes you think about the original carver too. It reminds me that making art is like entering a never-ending dialogue. It’s this back-and-forth across generations, where we pick up ideas and run with them, transforming them in our own way. It’s an ongoing conversation, echoing through time.