Corn Husk Doll on Horse 1935 - 1942

This corn husk doll on a horse by Wilbur M Rice looks like it was made with colored pencil or maybe even crayon. I imagine Wilbur completely absorbed in the act of drawing, layering the medium to evoke a sense of volume and texture. This rendering of the doll and horse isn’t just a picture; it’s a translation of tactile experience onto paper. You can see the artist’s hand in the way he painstakingly shades the horse. I wonder what Rice was thinking as he drew? Did the doll mean something to him? It would be interesting to think about how folk art offers a unique window into personal and cultural narratives. Wilbur M Rice is another artist in the long lineage of makers, and in my mind, we are all still collaborating in an ongoing conversation, where each contribution inspires new forms of expression.