Meisa Chase
Title: The "Howler"
17.5 x 11.5
Price: $100
Artist Statement:
The growler became a staple for American beer drinkers starting sometime in the late 1800's. From its humble beginning as a galvanized pail whose name possibly originates from the noisy "growls" that were heard as the Co2 would escaped the pail lid as the beer went sloshing along its way from the local pub. Pre-WWII it was not unusual to see children or adults known as“Bucket Boys” carrying the buckets to "rush the growler", another possible origin of the term, for workers or their parents during lunch or dinner. The "bucket trade" was not looked favorable on during prohibition, and many laws were passed to outlaw it. During the 1950's the pail was replace by the new innovations of a waxed cardboard container that resembled a cross of a milk carton and Chinese take out soup container that could be purchased to go from the brewery. The growler about disappeared during the 1960's when plastic made its debut and it was possible to package beer for after hours sales. The growler was little heard of until a craft brewery in the late 1980's was looking for a way to provide beer to its patrons but was lacking a way to bottle it. They turned to the idea of using a growler, a concept remembered by a family member from his youth. The re-imagined growler was a glass half gallon jug with a screen printed logo, as is most commonly seen today. The growler is continuing to gain popularity as it neatly fits into our idea of a home grown locally sourced brew kept within a reusable container. There are a variety of screw or pop top vessels available that allow us to enjoy a fresh beer at home for about a week. The inspiration for this artwork came from my own flint glass "howler" or "half growler" with a Grolsch-style flip-top. Depicted is a refreshing Belgian wheat beer sourced from my local brewery and enjoyed in my studio as this was being painted.
