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
Copied Christine Joy, Small Dark Cloud, 2012, willow and Rocky Mountain maple with encaustic finish, overall_​1: 15 3⁄4 × 20 3⁄4 × 15 1⁄2 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
Artist
Date
2012
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
overall_​1: 15 3⁄4 × 20 3⁄4 × 15 1⁄2 in. (40 × 52.7 × 39.4 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mary Anne Fray
Mediums
Mediums Description
willow and Rocky Mountain maple with encaustic finish
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
2021.55.2
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/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