Butter Mold c. 1941

Mary Owen made this watercolor of a butter mold, and it gets me thinking about the everyday beauty we often overlook. Owen’s approach, with its delicate layering of earth tones, reminds me that artmaking is really a process of revealing what’s already there, waiting to be noticed. The way the light catches the subtle ridges and curves of the mold is really nice. The texture almost makes you want to reach out and touch it. The central rosette, with its radiating triangles, is so precisely rendered, but there’s also something so warm and inviting about it. It makes me think of Agnes Martin’s grids, but softened, made domestic. The whole thing feels like a conversation between precision and intimacy. Owen is showing us that even the most humble object, like a butter mold, can be a source of endless fascination and inspiration. It’s a quiet, gentle reminder to slow down and really see the world around us.