Small Dark Cloud

Christine Joy, Small Dark Cloud, 2012, willow and Rocky Mountain maple with encaustic finish, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mary Anne Fray, 2021.55.2
Christine Joy, Small Dark Cloud, 2012, willow and Rocky Mountain maple with encaustic finish, overall_​1: 15 34 × 20 34 × 15 12 in. (40 × 52.7 × 39.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mary Anne Fray, 2021.55.2

Artwork Details

Title
Small Dark Cloud
Date
2012
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
overall_​1: 15 34 × 20 34 × 15 12 in. (40 × 52.7 × 39.4 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mary Anne Fray
Mediums Description
willow and Rocky Mountain maple with encaustic finish
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
2021.55.2

Artwork Description

Inspired by birds’ nests and clouds, Christine Joy developed a weaving technique to convey the movement of nature. The artist works with pliable twigs of willow, harvested from her home in Montana. While her baskets are not functional in the traditional sense, both her process and the work itself contain her thoughts on the passage of time: “The weekly routine, the daily rhythm, the inevitable flow of time from birth to death, mysterious, astonishing, exciting, holding promise of life.”


This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, 2022

Works by this artist (217 items)

Herman A. Webster, Le Moulin au Bord de l'Eau, 1926, etching, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Moune G.H. Webster, 1973.124.116
Le Moulin au Bord de l’Eau
Date1926
etching
Not on view
Herman A. Webster, Street Scene, etching, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Olin Dows, 1979.136.239
Street Scene
etching
Not on view
Herman A. Webster, Fin d'Une Belle Journee d'Automne, 1938, pencil and watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Moune G.H. Webster, 1973.124.89
Fin d’Une Belle Journee d’Automne
Date1938
pencil and watercolor on paper
Not on view
Herman A. Webster, Bird's-Eye View of Venice, 1933, pen and ink and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Moune G.H. Webster, 1973.124.55
Bird’s-Eye View of Venice
Date1933
pen and ink and pencil on paper
Not on view