Covered Dish c. 1936

Curator: Roberta Elvis, as a drawing using watercolors, presents “Covered Dish,” which is dated to around 1936. What catches your eye immediately? Editor: An exercise in angles and reflections! It’s austere yet playful; there is the geometry of art deco but then the whimsy of a duck form. Curator: Exactly! It seems the duck functions as both subject and canvas for Elvis' exploration of texture and form. There's this precise rendering coupled with a soft, diffused application of color, isn't there? It’s not merely a representation; it’s a meditation on how light interacts with an object. Editor: The illustration below enhances this sensation with this additional linear technical drawing—as though a ghostly impression remained of it's construction or of an original schematic. How interesting. Curator: Oh, absolutely! It roots us back to a blueprint perhaps or Elvis' mental sketch of it--that extra level of precision speaks to the functional artistry she perceived in even a seemingly ordinary object. It’s like she’s inviting us to appreciate the meticulous design. And you can see those faint, pastel washes and pencil lines as such an integral and necessary ingredient to appreciating its structure. Editor: This combination and integration of watercolor softness with precision line is also rather poignant. Given its era, do you sense a hopeful note that it may speak towards? Curator: It is, indeed. You almost wonder if she's finding beauty and order during quite a transformative era in America--a moment to pause and find grace in domestic forms. Editor: In her work then we are compelled towards stillness and observation with careful grace. Curator: A thoughtful invitation, I think. It is this intimate encounter with such considered observation--yes, with grace.