Zoar Thread Holder c. 1938

Fritz Boehmer painted this "Zoar Thread Holder" with watercolor, and what I love is the way the objecthood of the thread holder is so present. The shelves practically reach out and demand to be used, you know? I'm really drawn to the surface here. The way the paint is applied so evenly, with just enough variation in tone to suggest shadows and highlights, really makes the object feel solid and real. And those little red dots, scattered so methodically across the yellow surface, they're like a little language all their own, a kind of visual code. Look at how the dots curve and shift, as if to follow the round shape of the thread spools. They give the piece a pulse, a life of its own. It makes me think of someone like Forrest Bess, who also uses repeated marks and symbols to create these kind of personal, symbolic worlds. The painting feels like a conversation, a back-and-forth between the artist and the object. It's so full of care, but it also leaves room for me, the viewer, to bring my own stories and associations to it.