Hand Fluting Iron c. 1938

Samuel W. Ford made this drawing of a hand fluting iron, likely sometime in the mid-20th century, with graphite and watercolor on paper. Look closely and you’ll see how Ford painstakingly built up the form with layers and layers of soft, graphite marks. Ford really lingers on the texture of this metal object: the pitted surface of the iron itself, the smooth wooden handle, even the glints of light bouncing off the metal. See how the light seems to catch on the rounded edges of the fluting ridges? It's almost like he's inviting us to touch it, to feel the weight and the coolness of the iron in our hands. The colors are muted, almost monochromatic, which gives the drawing a sense of age and history, like a faded photograph from another time. This drawing feels almost like a portrait, doesn’t it? Like he saw something special, something worthy of careful attention in this everyday object. It reminds me a little of some of the drawings of Wayne Thiebaud who also has this fascination with the stuff of ordinary life. Ultimately, art is about seeing, and about inviting others to see along with you.