Toleware Tea Cannister c. 1938

Edward White made this Toleware Tea Canister, and who knows when, but let’s look at how he did it. There's something really satisfying in the way the colors pop against that dark ground. I love the directness of folk art, the way the making is right there on the surface. See how the petals around the red fruit, or is it a sun, are painted with what looks like just a few strokes of the brush? It’s not trying to be anything other than what it is – paint on metal, making an image. It's this very act of painting, the decision of where to put the brush and what color to use that’s the real content of the work. This makes me think of other artists who embraced the handmade, like the early American quilt makers or even someone like Forrest Bess with his visionary renderings. Art isn’t about perfection; it’s about expression and the ongoing conversation between artists and ideas.