Wrought Iron Trivet c. 1941

This drawing shows a wrought iron trivet made by Lon Cronk, a craftsman who lived a long life between 1855 and 1995. I love the contrast of the dark metal and the plain white paper. You can see the oval shape with its wavy lines and vertical bars, supported by three little feet. A straight handle sticks up jauntily to the side. When I look at this drawing, I imagine Cronk, bending and shaping the hot metal with his tools. The drawing has a real sense of the handmade, the kind of attention to detail that only comes from knowing your materials inside out. It reminds me of folk art and the beauty of everyday objects made with care. Cronk is part of a long line of makers, each riffing on the past, adding their own twist. Drawings like this make me think about how we connect to the world through the things we create, finding new ways of seeing, thinking, and making in an ongoing conversation across time.