Blanket 1935 - 1942

Mary Edith Brooks made this image of a blanket, probably with watercolor and pencil. The horizontal lines of red, blue and neutral tones march across the page, punctuated by arrow-like dashes. Imagine her, carefully rendering this textile, trying to capture the intricacies of its woven structure. What was she thinking as she painstakingly recreated this design? I'm really taken by the repetitive rhythm, how each line varies slightly, a gentle hum of imperfection. I keep thinking about Agnes Martin and the meditative nature of her ruled lines. You could almost say it's like Brooks is weaving her own story on paper, a tribute to the original maker. It is a reminder that artists, whether they're working with thread or paint, are always in conversation, borrowing and building upon each other's ideas. Painting, like weaving, becomes this embodied act, open to interpretation. There is no fixed meaning.