Jewelry Button c. 1940

John H. Tercuzzi gave us this “Jewelry Button” and its construction, with light pencil strokes, feels so intimate. I am wondering how long it took him to make this, and what he might have been thinking when he made it? Was it a study for something else, or a quiet moment of reflection? The oval button shimmers with delicacy and subtle gradations, like a watercolor. The gesture of the ‘JH’ monogram, floating on its surface, hints at hidden meanings. There is something so pure about this drawing of a button. I imagine the artist looking very intently at the button, and the button looking back, saying, “Draw me”. Tercuzzi and other artists are constantly exchanging ideas across time, inspiring each other's creativity. This piece shows us how creativity is a form of embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and leaving the piece open to multiple interpretations.