Pa. German Plate 1937

Editor: This watercolor drawing from 1937 by Eugene Shellady depicts a Pennsylvania German earthenware plate. The folk art style is charming! What can you tell me about this object and its creation? Curator: It's intriguing to consider the process behind this image. We're seeing a watercolor drawing of an earthenware plate. Notice how the drawing meticulously replicates the textures and designs typically etched into the ceramic. It calls into question, doesn't it, our traditional separation of high art, like painting, from crafts, such as pottery. Editor: That's fascinating! I hadn't considered it that way. So, the drawing isn’t just a depiction; it's a commentary on artistic hierarchies? Curator: Precisely. Shellady’s drawing points towards the labor involved in producing folk art. The plate, initially made through a physical process using raw materials—clay, pigments—becomes the subject of a drawing, another form of production, mimicking that process with watercolours and paper. Editor: That really shifts my perspective. It's like the drawing itself is engaging in the same act of creation as the potter, but in a different medium. Was there a particular audience for works like these? Curator: I'd speculate that it provided the original artisan's designs with a far greater reach to audiences unable to collect physical media. We could also think about it as mass production -- a copy or an affordably made commodity for someone without the means to buy the original craftwork. Editor: Thank you for pointing that out. I didn't notice the drawing can be about mass production of artworks and folk culture. It completely changes how I see it. Curator: I'm glad to have broadened your interpretation. There are layers here to keep discovering.