Confessional 1935 - 1942

Majel G. Claflin made this watercolor called 'Confessional,' and it's a great example of how an artist can see an everyday object in a new way. Look at those pale washes of color—the browns and tans of the wood, contrasted with the reds and blues of the decoration, which seem to be hand painted. I can imagine Claflin carefully applying each layer, trying to capture the texture of the wood and the intricate details. There's something so intimate about the scale, and in the subject matter, it makes you want to spill your secrets. It makes me think about folk art and how artists like Claflin find inspiration in unexpected places, like utilitarian objects, making art that is both personal and connected to the world around them. It also makes me think of Marsden Hartley and his paintings of everyday objects charged with symbolic meaning. It is a kind of embodied expression, full of ambiguity.