Woven Coverlet c. 1936

Elizabeth Valentine created this woven coverlet, and what we see here is likely a watercolor study of the design. The pattern, built from blue and white squares, tessellates into a larger composition of circles and squares. I bet Valentine sat with her materials, working out the pattern slowly but surely. Did she have other weavers in her family or community? Weaving is such an intimate, tactile process, which is why it reminds me of painting. The back and forth of the shuttle is like dragging paint across a surface. It’s about building up layer by layer, thread by thread. I’m also drawn to the way the design implies infinity. It reminds me of the weavings of Anni Albers or even some of the geometric abstractions of Hilma af Klint. There's a real conversation happening across time. Each artist riffs on what came before, and Valentine is no different. In her coverlet, Valentine made something beautiful and functional, but also deeply personal.