Shaker Rug c. 1936

Curator: This lovely watercolor and pencil drawing from around 1936 is titled "Shaker Rug" and is attributed to Alice Stearns. It offers a detailed rendering of what appears to be a hand-woven rug or textile. What strikes you most when you first see this piece? Editor: It feels like a secret code! You know, those intricate woven patterns almost look like something you could decode if you looked at them long enough. Like it is charged with unspoken things. It has the warmth of the domestic, yet also possesses an austere charm. Curator: That’s a beautiful observation. Considering the Shaker association, that austere charm is quite intentional. The Shakers were known for their commitment to simplicity, utility, and quality craftsmanship. The rug, as a domestic object, carries echoes of these core values. Pattern repetition was essential, and can be a reflection of Shaker beliefs about order and purpose in daily life. Editor: The way the different sections are handled is lovely too. You have a vertical stripe with the color gradation alongside that chunky zig-zag. There is something deeply calming about that rhythm. It seems humble, and also bold in its own way. Curator: Indeed. There is also something to be said about the very act of Stearns creating this image of the rug, because what are we celebrating? The artistry of the rug, or is it the image making by Stearns? Or perhaps both, together! I'm captivated by the image’s subtle hues – that restrained palette is characteristic of Shaker design, but also perhaps constrained by the limits of dyes that would be available at the time? Editor: Right? It feels like it opens a door to the past but refuses to over explain things. What could we ever truly understand about those who lived before us? At best, perhaps we might get only hints. Like reading tea leaves... or textile patterns. Curator: Ultimately, this work beautifully marries the physical object, in this case, a Shaker rug, with the act of its reproduction. The artist gives permanence to a design and its cultural context, adding a new dimension of artistic merit through close observation, documentation and illustration. Editor: It makes me think about how we record the small details in life and imbue our spaces with memory and presence. It is almost a portrait...of an ethos!