Toleware Coffee Pot 1935 - 1942

Editor: So, here we have Mildred Ford's "Toleware Coffee Pot," created sometime between 1935 and 1942 using watercolor and colored pencil. It strikes me as both utilitarian and whimsical, a folksy take on something rather ordinary. What leaps out at you? Curator: You know, it does possess this wonderfully charming tension between function and pure delight, doesn't it? To me, it speaks of a time when even everyday objects were canvases for self-expression. Do you think it is just an ordinary object? Look at the vibrant, almost playful way the flowers and leaves are rendered. It feels less like a coffee pot and more like a celebration of the everyday, an ode to a morning ritual perhaps. Editor: That's interesting, I hadn't thought of it as celebratory! The color palette is quite earthy, though. I wonder, why a coffee pot? What's so special about it? Curator: Well, maybe that is the point; perhaps Ford challenges us to consider what is not usually considered “special”. It's an intriguing question, and I think the beauty lies precisely in the choice of the mundane. To elevate something so common to an art form… almost as if Ford were whispering, "beauty is everywhere, if you just choose to see it". Editor: I suppose turning something mundane into art does allow for a deeper appreciation. Curator: Exactly! Think of all those morning coffees, and the person using the coffee pot… does it offer us a peek into their home, and ultimately into their lives and inner most hopes? Editor: Wow. I will certainly look at my own coffee pot with a fresh perspective! Curator: Me too! Ford reminds us to pause, observe, and perhaps find joy in the simplest of things.