Utility Box c. 1939

Christabel Scrymser made this watercolor of a Utility Box and, looking at it, I wonder, was it in her house? It's not just a box; it's a burst of colour with red and blue stripes that seem to hug the edges, like a frame within a frame. You see these floral motifs, right? Red and yellow, blooming right there on the surface, with a touch of folk art charm. You can imagine her, maybe on a rainy day, with the box in front of her, adding petals and leaves with simple brushstrokes. I like to think about how art gets recycled. I mean, every time you look at an artwork, you're sort of having a conversation with the artist, across time. I wonder if the painting was a way for her to keep the memory of this little treasure? She might have used the colours to make something ordinary pop, to see the world a little brighter. It has that quality of an artist seeing potential where others might just see a container.