Flat Iron Holder c. 1939

This flat iron holder was created by John Swientochowski, no telling when, or with what! The piece is super simple, yet you can see all the traces of how it's come into being, shifting and emerging through trial, error, and intuition, maybe it was even forged in fire! I can imagine him trying to find the right balance between functionality and form, figuring out how to make this thing that also has its own integrity. He's dealing with texture, surface, and the physicality of the medium, probably thinking about the weight of the iron, how it sits, how it’s constructed in the end. Artists are always in an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity, as well as forging a path for others. Making things is an expression, and it embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations.