Crib Coverlet 1935 - 1942

This is Marian Curtis Foster’s "Crib Coverlet," made with watercolour and graphite on paper. Look closely and you can see the process, the under-drawing, the tentative marks that build up the image. I love the way Foster renders the different textures. The quilting pattern in the white sections is quite delicate, like water rippling. Then you have the bold tulips, rendered in saturated reds, yellows and greens, offset by the pale ground. Notice that the tulips are built up with layers of hatching to give them depth. See the tiny triangles around the edge? Each one is carefully drawn and coloured. You can feel the artist’s hand in every mark, every decision. There's a connection here to artists like Ree Morton, who also celebrated the handmade and embraced the tactile qualities of humble materials. Ultimately, art invites us to slow down, to notice the world around us, and to appreciate the beauty in the everyday.