Patchwork Quilt c. 1936

This ‘Patchwork Quilt’ was made by Elizabeth Valentine, sometime in the twentieth century. It’s a drawing of a quilt, and as a painter, I immediately start thinking about the difference. What does it mean to draw a quilt versus make a quilt? I can imagine Valentine deeply engrossed in rendering each hexagonal patch with colored pencil, thinking about color combinations, symmetry, and repeating patterns. Maybe she was thinking about the warmth and comfort a quilt provides? Or the memories stitched into each piece of fabric. And what about the hours of labor involved in cutting, piecing, and sewing? The drawing has a quaint quality, maybe a little old fashioned. And yet, there’s something timeless about the geometric abstraction, that reminds me of the work of Gee’s Bend quilters, who share her interest in geometry, but think of it more freely. It reminds you that there is more than one way to go about making and artmaking is all about possibilities!