Buckskin Shirt and Leggings 1935 - 1942

This buckskin shirt and leggings, rendered in colored pencil on paper, really makes me think about translation – how to carry something over from one form to another. I imagine the anonymous artist, contemplating the original garments and trying to capture their essence on paper. It's not just about representation but about something deeper – the texture of the hide, the way the fringe moves, the weight and feel of the materials. They must have felt this push and pull between what they were seeing and what they were feeling. The blue lines across the chest are such a delicate balance. It’s that struggle, that tension, that makes the work so compelling. It reminds me of other works where artists try to embody and reimagine something in a new form, turning it into something else. Each artist learns from another, opening up more possibilities. This piece is an exploration – a way of understanding and sharing a cultural artifact through the act of drawing.