Colonial Chimes c. 1936

Edward L. Loper made this drawing of a set of chimes, with graphite on paper. I wonder what he was thinking as he rendered these forms with such careful consideration. Maybe he liked making preparatory sketches? Or was this a study of the object itself? I love how the metal arm extends to hold the chimes, it terminates with a flourish into a spiral. The eye is invited to wind round and round this elegant curve. The chimes themselves look like upside-down bells, and I can almost hear the gentle music they would make when stirred by a breeze. When an artist like Loper sits down to draw something functional like chimes, they're not just copying what they see; they're rethinking the world, feeling it out, and handing us a new way to experience the everyday. It’s like he's saying, "Hey, check this out. Isn't this thing beautiful?" And you know what? It really is.