Woodcarving c. 1937

This small woodcarving was made by Eugene Croe, who lived a long life between the 19th and 20th centuries. It has a monochromatic palette of warm browns and yellows, the type you can imagine him carving away at, piece by piece. I wonder what it was like for Croe to carve this little figure of a person in a hood. I imagine him, maybe a little bit lonely, maybe quite content, carefully carving the wood into a figure that seems quite happy. It makes me think of folk art, and its commitment to material and process. You know, what can I do with my hands today? The grain of the wood seems honored, rather than smoothed away, the lines left by the tool visible. The wood itself is part of the message. It all just makes me want to grab some tools and get to work. That's what art does, right? We all inspire each other across time, in a kind of ongoing conversation.