Pottery Jam Jar c. 1938

Magnus S. Fossum made this 'Pottery Jam Jar' with what looks like watercolor on paper. It’s got this wonderful, washy blue, like a faded memory. I find it so fascinating how watercolor can be both precise and totally unpredictable. You can see the way the pigment settles and pools, creating these soft edges. The jar itself has this beautiful, slightly imperfect shape, with this drippy run of paint suggesting the glaze. There’s something so tender about the mark making, the way each brushstroke feels so tentative and exploratory. The color is a meditation, a gentle hum that evokes a sense of quiet and contemplation. It puts me in mind of Morandi, who was similarly taken with the poetry of humble vessels. It is in this act of looking, of trying to capture the essence of an object, that art transcends mere representation and becomes something deeply personal and meaningful.