Mug c. 1939

Roberta Spicer made this mug in watercolor; she must have sat and stared at it, trying to figure out the nuances of the light and shadow. It looks like it was painted with thin washes, and the paper has been left bare to communicate the white of the mug. The mug seems to glow from within. I wonder if Roberta Spicer felt a connection with this object, or if she was just interested in its formal qualities? There's a little stylized rose on its side; it's almost like a tiny portal into another world. This artwork reminds me of Giorgio Morandi's still-life paintings, where he painted the same bottles and jars over and over, searching for something new each time. It's about taking something simple and trying to understand it more deeply. Painting is a way of seeing, and Spicer invites us to slow down and see the beauty in the everyday.