Fractur Drawing (Birth Certificate) c. 1936

This watercolor, "Fractur Drawing (Birth Certificate)" was made by Jessica Price. It's got this very direct, almost childlike quality, with birds rendered in bands of pink, yellow, and green, perched around a central flower. The paint looks thin, soaked right into the paper, like she was really letting the materials do their thing. I keep thinking about those dashed lines that create the outlines. They remind me of sewing patterns, or maybe a connect-the-dots game. It's like Price is giving us the bare bones of an image, and inviting us to fill in the blanks. The text too adds this layer, and the whole thing feels both decorative and deeply personal, like a secret code meant to be deciphered. I see echoes of Hilma af Klint in Price’s work, in the way she uses simple forms to convey complex ideas and explore spiritual themes, and in the connection between artmaking and knowledge. It's a reminder that art is never really finished, but always evolving, always open to new ways of seeing and understanding.